It is not for nothing that the Russian language was called the classic “great, powerful and truthful”: it is capable of expressively, figurative means, accurately expressing a certain state or situation.
The use of phraseological units, proverbs and sayings, idioms and winged expressions makes speech brighter, more concise and sometimes eliminates unnecessary lengthy explanations. Below we will consider the meaning of phraseology "put your teeth on the shelf."
Where do teeth grow from?
The history of the language can help you understand what the phrase “put your teeth on the shelf” means. In fact, this is a saying, that is, a folklore genre. So, the expression has come out of the popular milieu, the sources of its meaning can be found in simple life.
The saying is designed to reflect some phenomenon of life. “To experience urgent need, to starve, to limit yourself in everything” - such is the meaning of phraseology “put your teeth on the shelf”. How does folk wisdom advise to put teeth?
Teeth in folk labor
There are two ways to interpret the meaning of the word “teeth” in a saying. The first is popular. "Teeth" were called spinning tools. Once they lie on a shelf - there is no work, but without work and no income.
In the Russian language there is another playful proverb, similar in theme: "Wait a little, put your teeth on the shelf." In this case, you should listen to the advice and do the opposite. The proverb about a fish that cannot be easily pulled out of a pond will be synonymous in meaning. This shows the characteristic feature of such phraseological units in the Russian language: hunger is characterized by laziness, not work.
Origin of the word
If we look at the etymology of the word “tooth”, it will be clear that this is not only a bone formation in the mouth, but also a surface with sharp edges. So, the meaning of phraseology “put your teeth on the shelf” can be expanded with other tools: the saw has a teeth, a rake, a plow. Any work is suitable in meaning, because from the earliest times it was believed that "the good of people in life, and life in work."
Bloodthirsty tongue
Accurate popular expression is able to outgrow its environment and enter into the speech of more carriers of a certain culture. Penetrating into the literary language, the phraseological phrase can be understood intuitively, without a clear understanding of its lexical units. It is unlikely that many will now understand with what nose you can stay, but the meaning of the saying is clear to everyone: they say so about failure in the undertaking. However, in the old days a nose was called an offering - it was offered to an official. It could be in monetary terms or in the form of a natural product. If the official did not accept the offer, the petitioner “stayed with his nose” - he did not get what he wanted.
A different situation occurred with the saying "put your teeth on the shelf." The meaning of phraseologism acquired a new internal form in the literary language, without losing understanding of the meaning of lexical units. The teeth lost their direct connection with labor and began to be understood in the usual sense: the proverb suggests literally pulling out the teeth as a false jaw and putting it on the shelf as unnecessary. The saying takes on a hue of black humor, but true: why teeth, just nothing to chew. Moreover, lying on a shelf, they do not knock off, but survive to better times.
Semantic sayings field
And although the teeth in the saying changed their meaning, phraseology remained in the semantic field of the concepts of hunger and poverty. I recall the church mouse: the rodent was placed in the most hungry of possible premises, and most importantly its tool for combating hunger is teeth. And in the refrigerator, again, a mouse from hunger can hang itself.
The meaning of phraseology “put your teeth on the shelf” accurately and figuratively reflects the realities of human reality. The relevance and universality of the phenomenon described by the saying made it understandable to all cultural bearers, although the initial meaning of phraseological lexemes is outdated and almost forgotten.