The steady expression "change awl for soap" is used in speech often, but not always correctly. The reason for this is a not very clear understanding of its meaning. And this is not surprising, since even scientists have several versions of the meaning of this phraseology.
The lexical meaning
According to the “Dictionary of Russian phraseological units”, the combination “exchange an awl for soap” means “to make a useless shortsighted exchange”. However, studies show that often native speakers use this phrase to mean "choose the worst from the bad" or "make an exchange of unnecessary things for a more suitable one." Such polysemantism arises in view of the specifics of the linguistic properties of phraseological units, because their meaning is not derived from the sum of the meanings of the components of the phrase. As a rule, the origins of the meaning of “winged expressions” should be sought in the history of their origin.
If we consider separately the lexical content of the words "change", "awl" and soap ", it still remains unclear why these items should be replaced, and why these objects were selected to complete the action. That is, what the awl has in common and soaps, so that the very idea of castling arises? What properties bring these objects together, make them related to the extent that replacing one with another becomes possible? This does not follow from the lexical meaning of linguistic units: awl is an instrument representing a thick needle with a wooden handle; soap is a special substance used as a hygiene product. At first glance, they have nothing in common, in any case, in the eyes of a modern person. Therefore, it is necessary to heed the advice of the notorious Kozma Prutkov "see the root" and turn to the history of the origin of the expression.
Etymology
The most widespread version is that according to which the phrase "change awl for soap" came from the everyday life of shoemakers. In the old days, the metal tip of the instrument was made of iron, and therefore it quickly rusted, and it became very difficult to pierce stubborn skin. Therefore, it was rubbed with a bar of soap, which made it possible to greatly facilitate the labor process. Both items, therefore, were absolutely necessary for the shoemaker, and it was not practical to exchange one for the other. Indeed, without sewing or without soap, it became impossible to work. From this follows the sought-after lexical meaning of modern phraseology.
The emergence of other semantic variants is explained by the presence of an alternative version of the etymological meaning of the idiom, according to which it goes back to the dialectic expression "change the awl for pile". Some scholars believe that the original form of phraseology was just that. A pile was once called a thick nail or a spike with a large head, which was used for the game. Therefore, the meaning of the phrase was somewhat different: the exchange of things necessary in the work for a useless trinket. However, later the word “pile” went out of use and “soap” was placed in its place, possibly due to the appearance of the rhyme “awl-soap”.
