Hedgehog gloves: interpretation of phraseological units. Does that mean keeping a tight rein? Where does the expression "keep a tight rein" come from?

Dear readers! Unfortunately, circumstances still do not allow me to meet with you as often as I would like. I, Nadya Bokhan, thank you for your attention and say “see you soon!” I’m handing over the reins to a new author and I hope he will keep them with a tight grip. And why he’s wearing hedgehog gloves, and what kind of gloves they are, he’ll tell you himself.

We have already discovered the secret of the origin of ordinary mittens; this time we will try to discover the pedigree of the “hedgehog mittens,” their use, and so on.

At first glance, everything is quite transparent - these are probably mittens made from hedgehogs. The imagination vividly pictures a brave little tailor who came up with the crazy idea of sewing clothes for his hands from the skins of small, harmless and even useful (from the point of view of gardeners) snorting animals. It is obvious, however, that such mittens do not represent any value other than aesthetic and educational. However, this monstrous guess about a Swedish man who has not heard of Greenpeace is not so far from the truth. Dahl's explanatory dictionary states that special muzzles were made from needle skins for older calves so that the cow would not let them suckle.

What does this have to do with mittens?

Let us remember the family of princes Golitsyn. They owe their surname to the golitsy, widely known in narrow circles. This was the name for working tops made of rough leather without wool or fur lining. Having dressed in them, you can painlessly do almost anything for yourself: even catch hedgehogs. With their help, they mostly indulged in this simple activity. Well, that’s why the gols got the nickname “hedgehog gloves.”

The phraseological phrase “take someone with a tight grip” was born from a little-known Russian proverb “tackle a soft body with a tight grip” and the no less little-known Russian proverb “A hedgehog is a craftswoman to teach.” In the 19th century, with the light hands of writers whom we used to call our everything, it began to be often used in literature, which, naturally, brought the iron fists their fame.

Remember Petrusha Grinev’s unsuccessful attempt to shamelessly deceive an elderly German general in “The Captain’s Daughter”?

- Now about business... I’ll bring you my rake... um... “keep a tight rein”... What are mittens? This must be a Russian proverb... What does “handle with mittens” mean? – he repeated, turning to me.
“This means,” I answered him with an air as innocent as possible, “to treat him kindly, not too strictly, to give him more freedom, to keep a tight rein.”
- Hm, I understand... “and not give him free rein”... no, apparently wearing mittens means the wrong thing...

Exactly one hundred years later, in the thirties of the twentieth century, the phrase “hedgehog gloves” acquired an extremely sinister meaning. Ironically, the NKVD of the USSR at that time was headed by Nikolai Yezhov.

On the poster, the artist B. Efimov depicted the commissar himself, tightly holding a reptile with the heads of “Trotskyist-Bukharin-Rykov spies, saboteurs, saboteurs” by the throat.

It is noteworthy that after the chief People's Commissar for Internal Affairs found himself in the place of his victims in 1939, the iron gloves were not renamed “berium.”

The role of phraseological units in the Russian language is difficult to overestimate. Thanks to their use, the speaker’s speech acquires a special colorfulness, liveliness, and imagery. The roots of a great many set expressions should be sought in the popular language. It is he who is the storehouse of truly precious treasures of our modern dictionary.

The meaning of the expression “hedgehog gloves”

When one person wants to characterize the methods or techniques of raising another, emphasizing their particular severity, perhaps even cruelty, he most often declares that he keeps his family in a black body. It is appropriate to use the phraseological unit “iron gloves” in the same sense.

The phrases, say, “fox coat”, “beaver hat” are completely familiar, but what does a piece of clothing made from a spiny mammal look like and does it really exist? We learn this by considering the etymology of phraseological units.

History of the origin of the expression

It turns out that such mittens were not made from the skin of the animal, but to capture the animal itself. As you know, hedgehogs, like cats, are good mousecatchers. And peasants in former times very often used them precisely for this purpose, running them into their cellars and basements.

What is the most convenient way to catch a prickly creature, so as not to injure yourself or injure it? This is where ironclad gloves came to the rescue - specially made for catching mouse hunters. They were sewn without lining, from very rough leather, and they were called golitsy.

Use of the expression in colloquial speech and literature

It is believed that “hedgehog gloves” mean not just strictness in upbringing and attitude, but a restriction of freedom, perhaps excessive, but with the best intentions - for the benefit of the person being brought up.

The ancient expression, which was used more than once by classic writers in their work, unexpectedly acquired a new meaning during the years of Stalinist repression. People associated these same mittens with the name of the head of the NKVD, Yezhov - much more eloquently!

If we note the use of the expression in literature, then we immediately remember an episode from Pushkin’s “The Captain’s Daughter”. There, the main character, having handed his future boss a letter from his father, tries to cheat, in his own way explaining to the German general the meaning of the words “keep a tight rein.” They say this means treating him gently, without severity, but he quickly realizes that this is not so, continuing to read the letter.

In modern colloquial speech, this expression does not appear so often.

0 Our vocabulary is simply replete with various proverbs and expressions, and the origin of many of them is rather vague. This circumstance pushes fragile minds to look into dictionaries in search of the information they are looking for. However, searching through these thick and dusty volumes poses a big challenge, and so we decided to create this resource in which you will find transcripts on a variety of topics. I strongly recommend adding our website to your bookmarks so as not to miss useful and important information. Today we will finally look at such a funny at first glance saying as Keep a tight rein, which means you can read a little lower.
However, before I continue, I would like to point you to a couple of other popular publications on the topic of phraseological units. For example, what does Woe from Wit mean; the meaning of the expression Yoperny theater; how to understand the phrase Go through the forest; which means Seven Fridays in a week, etc.
So let's continue Keep a tight rein on meaning? This proverb has a rather vague origin, but we will try to give the most detailed answer.

Keep a tight rein- means to treat strictly and harshly, to keep in subjection, to force one to completely obey oneself

Synonym for the phrase Keep a tight rein: keep in a black body.

This expression was first noted in the first half of the 18th century as part of a folk proverb - " With a tight fist, take on the soft body". From here it is clear that these were really real mittens, and not some kind of euphemism. However, questions remain, what kind of mittens are these, and could they be sewn from hedgehog skin?

If we delve deeper into dictionaries, we can find out that the word "hedgehog" does not imply " from the hedgehog", but rather means " hedgehog-like"Having studied the explanatory dictionary, we begin to understand that “hedgehog” is the thing with which you can hold this very hedgehog in your hands. As a result, we come to interesting information that in ancient times, there were special mittens that protected hands, they were called " golitsy"or "hedgehog mittens". They were made of rough leather without fur or lining, and they were excellent protection for working people when working. However, it was also easy to grab hedgehogs in them.

This phraseological unit acquired additional meaning during the USSR, when young Soviet Russia was just rising from its knees, after the civil war, and Comrade Yezhov was appointed head of the NKVD. It is with him that the general imprisonment of enemies of the people, as well as citizens he personally does not like, is associated. Even those around him were afraid of this man, because he did not spare either his relatives or friends.
Many years later, and after the total propaganda of the “liberda”, it is now difficult to say how bad everything was, and whether those people were guilty. Of course, it is impossible to be guided by the information provided by such liars as Solzhenitsyn and other oppositionists. Because they, and others like them, were essentially the same enemies of the people, and having gained power in their hands in the 90s, they began to actively throw some kind of brown substance at our past.

After reading this informative article, you learned What does it mean to keep a tight rein?, and now you won’t find yourself in a difficult situation if you discover this phraseological unit in the future.

The Russian language is extremely rich in phraseological units and emotionally charged vocabulary. Our literature in bright colors will give any phenomenon or living creature an accurate definition. So there was an apt association with cruel treatment - iron fists. But do we understand this concept correctly and what did our ancestors really mean? Let's find out.

Where did the iron fists come from?

This phraseological unit has its roots in the distant past. During the times of the peasantry, when, in addition to the home, the Russian man also had a barn with grain crops, he was faced with an acute problem: how to make sure that the crop remained safe and sound? Mice infestations became a real problem for farmers. The most effective method against voracious rodents was predatory animals - at least cats. So what does it have to do with hedgehogs?

In our everyday life, cats have partially lost the function of catching someone, because their owners bring them food on a silver platter. And hedgehogs even seem like wild, untameable animals. But inventive peasants used live hedgehogs to catch mice on their lands. To catch such a valuable specimen, villagers needed protective clothing. This is how the golts were invented - the very prototype of the mittens. They were made of very thick leather; there was no lining.

With tight gloves, the peasant was able to quickly deal with the prickly needles. Hedgehogs performed their function as mousecatchers perfectly. Therefore, this method of getting rid of mice was popular. So, these rough mittens were needed to solve a pressing everyday issue, and they became a stable expression only many years later.

The Legend of Yezhov

A new life for this phrase began in the Soviet Union, during the reign of Stalin. There was such a people's commissar in the notorious NKVD - Nikolai Yezhov. In accordance with his position in the state apparatus, he was famous for his cruel, ruthless character. The artist Efimov even released a satirical poster. On it, Yezhov was depicted in thorny mittens, holding a three-headed snake in his hands. The monster was the personification of the enemies of the state - the minions of Trotsky and Bukharin.

Thus, the expression radically changed its meaning. From mittens for catching hedgehogs, in people's minds they turned into mittens made from hedgehogs. Previously, the expression “hedgehog gloves” was used in classical literature by such authors as Pushkin, Turgenev, Chekhov, in its original understanding. But language develops and does not stand still, so time and history sometimes change it beyond recognition.

Hedgehog gloves: meaning in modern times

In everyday life, everyone has probably used the phrase “keep a tight rein” more than once. The meaning of a phraseological unit is clear even to a schoolchild - it is a strict and cruel address to someone. It is often used in relation to despotic bosses or even to playful children who strive to break parental rules. What association does a person have at this moment? That's right, he imagines needle-shaped mittens with which he can literally strengthen his authority (using brute force, of course).

Initially, the hedgehogs had nothing to do with it. Such mittens were classified as haberdashery products made of leather. Although they were not worn for beauty, but for purely practical purposes. Well, now animal activists would most likely be outraged by such treatment of poor hedgehogs. It's good that this is just a harmless play on words. A coma of a smile is unable to evoke any other emotions in the interlocutor.

Antonym for phraseological unit

The catchphrase "hedgehog" has several antonyms to it. It is quite natural that over time, for each stable expression, people find completely opposite ones. The antithesis technique is also used by writers and people of all professions who in one way or another relate to the study of the Russian language. What antonyms can be chosen for this phraseological unit? The simplest option is to dote on someone or something. It means to love and be affectionate towards someone without limit. So the opposite opinion can be expressed using this particular expression.

Phraseologisms-synonyms

The phraseological unit “with a tight grip” also has several similar meanings. One of them includes the stable expression “keep in a black body.” Its meaning is to keep someone in absolute obedience or to mistreat. This phrase originated in the Turkic language. These people were everywhere involved in horse breeding. It was their custom not to feed the horses enough so that they would not lose their physical condition. In this sense, the phrase should be interpreted as “black meat” - meat without fat.

The phraseological unit “keep on a short leash” is also close in meaning. This means that you should not give anyone too much freedom.

Keep a tight rein whom. Razg. Express To treat someone harshly or harshly. I was under the command of Kolka Maslov, a boy equally nimble both in his studies and in mischief; It was only by a strange coincidence that this fellow was kept away from the fighters; apparently, the strict father held his son with a tight rein(M. Alekseev. Brawlers).

Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language. - M.: Astrel, AST. A. I. Fedorov. 2008.

See what “Keep a tight rein” in other dictionaries:

Keep a tight rein- SLEEVES A, s, w. A garment that covers the entire hand and thumb separately. Fur mittens. Canvas mittens (working). Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

keep a tight rein- See crowd... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and similar expressions. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian dictionaries, 1999 ... Synonym dictionary

keep a tight rein- to keep someone in strict obedience, to treat someone very strictly and harshly. Hedgehog mittens (golitsy) are leather working mittens without lining or fur, they were intended for catching hedgehogs. Back in the 18th century, the expression iron fists... ... Phraseology Guide

Keep a tight rein- whom. Razg. Treat anyone strictly, sternly; educate someone in great severity. DP, 219; BTS, 252; FSRY, 396; BMS 1998, 507; ZS 1996, 227; SRGK 3, 173; F 1, 157; WWTP, 67...

keep a tight rein- see hedgehog... Dictionary of many expressions

keep a tight rein- Wed. He constantly watched me, as if I was capable of all crimes and should be kept under a tight rein. Turgenev. Unhappy. 17. Wed. I am sorely mistaken if he, taught by experience and having barely escaped death, did not inexorably hold on... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary

Keep it under control- whom. Novg. The same as keeping a tight rein (MITTEE). NOSE 2, 85... Large dictionary of Russian sayings

Hold (someone) with a tight rein- Hold (someone) with a tight rein. Wed. He constantly watched me, as if I were capable of all crimes and had to be kept under a tight rein. Turgenev. Unhappy. 17. Wed. I am sorely mistaken if he, taught by experience, and... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

hold smb. in a tight grip- colloquial Treat anyone strictly, sternly... Dictionary of many expressions

in a tight grip- in a tight grip. Razg. Unism. Strictly, sternly, in great severity. More often with verb. nesov. view: hold... how? in a tight grip; take... with a tight grip. Is it really necessary that they are peasants forever before Chichikov’s eyes and that he holds... ... Educational phraseological dictionary

Books

A kind word and a revolver from the manager, Konstantin Mukhortin. Quote By dismissing an employee violently, “like in a movie,” you can screw both yourself and the company. According to statistics, an “offended” employee (like a client) spreads five times more negative...

The meaning of the expression “hedgehog gloves”

History of the origin of the expression

Use of the expression in colloquial speech and literature

In modern colloquial speech, this expression does not appear so often.

Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language. - M.: Astrel, AST. A. I. Fedorov. 2008.

See what “Keep a tight rein” in other dictionaries:

keep a tight rein- See crowd... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and similar expressions. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian dictionaries, 1999 ... Synonym dictionary

Keep a tight rein- whom. Razg. Treat anyone strictly, sternly; educate someone in great severity. DP, 219; BTS, 252; FSRY, 396; BMS 1998, 507; ZS 1996, 227; SRGK 3, 173; F 1, 157; WWTP, 67...

keep a tight rein- see hedgehog... Dictionary of many expressions

Keep it under control- whom. Novg. The same as keeping a tight rein (MITTEE). NOSE 2, 85... Large dictionary of Russian sayings

hold smb. in a tight grip- colloquial Treat anyone strictly, sternly... Dictionary of many expressions

Books

, Konstantin Mukhortin. Quote By dismissing an employee violently, “like in a movie,” you can screw both yourself and the company. According to statistics, an “offended” employee (like a client) spreads five times more negative... Buy for 376 rubles
A kind word and a manager's revolver, Konstantin Mukhortin. Managers on duty are supposed to be united in two persons. One hypostasis is designed to motivate, inspire and encourage its employees, the other is to control their work, monitor...

We have all heard the expression “keep a tight rein” many times. The meaning of the expression is clear to most of us - it means treating someone strictly and harshly, keeping them on a “short leash” and not allowing any slack. And probably, many of us have come up with an association with mittens made from hedgehogs, or rather from their skins - of course, the feeling of being held in mittens full of thorns can hardly be called free and pleasant...

But what is the origin of this expression? And did there ever exist such an object as hedgehog gloves, from where did this image migrate into this phraseological turn, and if so, what did they look like?

At the end of the first half of the twentieth century, after the era of the notorious Stalinist rule, it was widely believed that this expression came from the People's Commissar of the NKVD named Yezhov, who became famous for his harshness and repression in the 30s. This image was further cemented in the popular consciousness by a poster by the artist Efimov, which was called “Hedgehog Mittens.” This poster depicted the People's Commissar holding a monster in the form of a multi-headed hydra in prickly (meaning, after all, hedgehogs?) mittens - it personified the “enemies of the regime” Trotskyists and Bukharinites.

But in fact, this expression is much older than Stalin’s repressions. It has been known since much more ancient times, and has repeatedly appeared in classical Russian literature - the expression “keep a tight rein” can be found in the works of Pushkin, Chekhov, and Turgenev. It was used in a meaning close to the modern meaning - that is, “to press to the nail”, not to give relief and the opportunity to escape from strict control. In the dictionaries of the 18th century there is a proverb: “Take a soft body with iron fists,” and its meaning was close to that stated above, although punishment was not meant.

Where did the image used in the expression come from? And what did those same iron fists look like?

The fact is that mice often appeared in the basements of houses and barns of peasants (which is not surprising, since this is where the peasants stored their supplies). To fight them, not only cats were used, but also other predators that hunt mice, namely hedgehogs. But a cat is a domestic animal, tamed, but how to lure a hedgehog into the right room? Taking it in your bare hands is problematic, precisely because of its prickly skin. What then to do? This is precisely what ironclad gloves, or so-called golitsy, were needed for. They were made of very thick leather and had no lining. With these mittens you can pick up a hedgehog curled up in a prickly ball and take it to a barn or basement to new hunting grounds. And then, when he brilliantly completes his mission and copes with the mouse scourge, use the same mittens to take him to freedom.

So, not a single hedgehog was harmed in the making of hedgehog gloves!