The saying "Do not feed the horse" arose in Russian at a time when horses were held in high esteem. Now it is used most often in a figurative sense, with irony, and characterizes a miserable weak person.
The meaning of the saying "Do not feed the horse"
The richness of the Russian language is to a large extent determined by a whole layer of stable phrases, phrases, single words. Every Russian person needs to know them, use them in their speech. The phraseological phrase “Not in horse feed” is quite common in Russian. As for most proverbs and sayings, however, the exact time and place of its appearance in the language is not known.
Origin of the proverb
There are 2 opinions regarding the occurrence of this saying. Both versions are related to keeping horses in the past, when they were the most valuable pet and therefore were the focus of attention of the whole society.
• According to the first version, the meaning of the phraseological turn is connected with sick and old horses. They can be fed a lot and well, but there will be no sense from this.
• The second version is related to gypsies. They sold horses and tried to trick the buyer. The gypsies took a worthless little horse and fed it well. The horse’s stomach was swollen. The buyer thought the horse was good and bought it. The next day, the sides of the horse fell through, the feed went into manure.
It can be argued that the saying "not in horse feed" arose more than 100 years ago. Horses were expensive at that time, they were kept in good conditions. This is reflected in fiction. You can recall the Little Humpbacked Horse, Sivka-Burka. The names of good and brave horses, characters of epics and fairy tales are known to Russian children and adults. In the works of Russian writers of the nineteenth century, the saying is quite common. For example, the author of remarkable stories N.S. Leskov uses this turn in the speech of one of the characters in the story "Nowhere." At that time, such phrases were used mainly by representatives of the lower classes. This moment is confirmed by L.V. Aleshina in the work "Some features of the vernacular of the second half of the XIX century." The saying "not in horse feed" is also recorded by V.I. Dahl (Proverbs of the Russian people: Do not waste food on a horse. - (poison). See Explained. Muddle).
Modern usage sayings
In modern Russia, horses have lost their former value. Nevertheless, they remain symbols of the culture of our country. Phraseological phrases with the words “horse” and “horse” are used now, for example, such as “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”, “saddle your favorite horse”. No less common is the “not in horse feed” turn. It can be found in modern stories, articles, advertising texts. But almost always it has a figurative meaning. This usually refers to a person or other living being, whom nothing can bring in good condition, no effort. This is not necessarily related to food. For example, in the explanatory dictionary T.F. Efremova gives an interpretation of the meaning of the saying: not a horse feed - a predicate. unleash The lack of benefit to anyone from anything; not good, not for the future.
