The meaning of the phraseology "to pound water in a mortar", origin and examples

A lot in life is meaningless, so proverbs,sayings and all sorts of suggestions that reflect the futility of being, is also abundant. Let's talk about one of them today: the importance of phraseology "to pound water in a mortar" in the focus of this article.

The proverb "Water in a mortar is pouring - water and will be"

One of the ways of forming phraseological units is extremelyIt is simple: they arise on the ruins of proverbs and sayings. This case is just like that. The proverb, which is placed in the subtitle, dying, gave life to the expression "to pound the water in a mortar". According to sources, this phrase is very ancient and has analogues in different languages. Known it was still in antiquity.

By the way, for your reference: stupa - a clay or metal container, designed to grind something. Of course, lovers of fairy tales immediately remembered Baba-Yaga and her flying machine, but the usual stupa is small.

This is the rich and ancient origin of the saying, familiar from childhood. Consider the meaning of the phraseology "to pound the water in a mortar".

Meaning

It is not difficult to understand that we are talking aboutmeaningless occupation, which has and can not have any result. We can easily choose a more universal analogue of this activity - it is Sisyphean labor. By the way, Sisyphus the gods punished for his ingenuity and forced to engage in the afterlife a useless thing. The meaning of the phraseology "to pound water in a mortar" has not only a figurative meaning, but also a direct one: so the monks were punished for their faults.

Useful and harmful activities

Of course, everyone can give some kind of definitionsaturated with the content of life or the empty existence of man. But the thing is that diving into a thoughtless existence, a person rests (especially in our crazy time). But when it comes to a schoolboy or a child, and he can not yet tell the difference between good and bad, you can talk about wasting time.

For example, a student instead of reading books orpreparing homework watching cartoons or playing video games. What does he do? The meaning of the phraseology "to pour water in a mortar" is quite suitable for describing his studies. As the classic wrote: "The soul is obliged to work day and night, and day and night."

But sometimes you still need to rest.

Outcomes

"Water in the mortar to pound" - the meaning of phraseologyimplies aimless labor, which has neither personal nor public benefit. Expression in itself contains some moral condemnation of meaningless work and a hint that it is necessary to be engaged in what will bring the result.