What does the expression smoking room mean. "Shabby view", "Sharashkin's office", "Smoking room is alive": the secret meaning of familiar expressions

Often we pronounce well-established phrases without delving into their meaning. Why, for example, do they say “goal like a falcon”? Who is a "smoker"? Why, finally, do they bring water to the offended? We will reveal the hidden meaning of these expressions.

Hot spot

The expression "hot spot" is found in the Orthodox prayer for the dead ("... in a hot place, in a resting place ..."). So in the texts in the Church Slavonic language is called paradise.
The meaning of this expression was ironically rethought by the raznochintsy-democratic intelligentsia of the times of Alexander Pushkin. The language game consisted in the fact that our climate does not allow growing grapes, therefore in Russia intoxicating drinks were produced mainly from cereals (beer, vodka). In other words, green means a drunken place.

They carry water on the offended

There are several versions of the origin of this saying, but the most plausible seems to be the one connected with the history of St. Petersburg water carriers. The price of imported water in the 19th century was about 7 kopecks of silver per year, and of course there were always greedy merchants who inflated the price in order to profit. For this illegal act, such unfortunate entrepreneurs were deprived of a horse and forced to carry barrels in a cart on themselves.

shabby look

This expression appeared under Peter I and was associated with the name of the merchant Zatrapeznikov, whose Yaroslavl linen manufactory produced both silk and wool, which were in no way inferior in quality to the products of foreign factories. In addition, the manufactory also made very, very cheap hemp striped fabric - mottled, "shabby" (rough to the touch), which went to mattresses, bloomers, sundresses, women's headscarves, work dressing gowns and shirts.
And if for rich people such a dressing gown was home clothes, then for the poor, things from shabby clothes were considered “going out” clothes. The shabby appearance spoke of the low social status of a person.

Sith friend

It is believed that a friend is so called by analogy with sieve bread, usually wheat. For the preparation of such bread, flour is used much finer grinding than in rye. To remove impurities from it and make the culinary product more “airy”, not a sieve is used, but a device with a smaller cell - a sieve. Therefore, the bread was called sieve. It was quite expensive, was considered a symbol of prosperity and was put on the table to treat the dearest guests.
The word "sitny" in relation to a friend means the "highest standard" of friendship. Of course, this turnover is sometimes used in an ironic tone.

7 Fridays in a week

In the old days, Friday was a market day, on which it was customary to fulfill various trade obligations. On Friday, the goods were received, and the money for it was agreed to be given on the next market day (on Friday of the next week). Those who broke such promises were said to have seven Fridays a week.
But this is not the only explanation! Friday was previously considered a free day from work, therefore, a loafer was characterized by a similar phrase, for whom every day is a day off.

Where Makar did not drive calves

One version of the origin of this saying is as follows: Peter I was on a working trip to Ryazan land and communicated with the people in an “informal setting”. It so happened that all the men he met on the way called themselves Makars. At first, the tsar was very surprised, and then said: “From now on, you should all be Makars!” Allegedly, since then, “Makar” has become a collective image of the Russian peasant and all peasants (not only Ryazan) began to be called Makars.

Sharashkin's office

The office got its strange name from the dialect word “sharan” (“trash”, “bad”, “rogue”). In the old days, this was the name given to a dubious association of swindlers and deceivers, but today it is simply an "undignified, unreliable" organization.

Not by washing, so by skating

In the old days, skilled laundresses knew that well-rolled linen would be fresh, even if the wash was not done brilliantly at all. Therefore, having sinned in washing, they achieved the desired impression “not by washing, but by rolling.”

Goal like a falcon

“Goal like a falcon,” we say about extreme poverty. But this proverb has nothing to do with birds. Although ornithologists say that falcons really lose their feathers during molting and become almost naked!
"Falcon" in the old days in Russia was called a ram, a tool made of iron or wood in the form of a cylinder. It was hung on chains and swung, thus breaking through the walls and gates of the enemy's fortresses. The surface of this weapon was even and smooth, simply speaking, bare.
The word "falcon" in those days called tools of a cylindrical shape: an iron scrap, a pestle for grinding grain in a mortar, etc. Sokolov was actively used in Russia until the advent of firearms at the end of the 15th century.

Alive smoking room

"Smoking room is alive!" - an expression from the old Russian children's game "Smoking Room". The rules were simple: the participants sat in a circle and passed a burning torch to each other, saying: “The smoking room is alive, alive! Thin legs, short soul. The one in whose hands the torch was extinguished left the circle. It turns out that the "smoking room" is not a person at all, as one might think, but a burning chip of which in the old days they illuminated the hut. She barely burned and smoked, as they said then "smoked".
Alexander Pushkin did not miss the chance to exploit this linguistic ambiguity in his epigram to the critic and journalist Mikhail Kachenovsky:
- How! Is the Kurilka journalist still alive?
- Lively! still dry and boring
And rude, and stupid, and tormented by envy,
Everything squeezes into its obscene sheet
Both the old nonsense and the new nonsense.
- Ugh! Tired of the Kurilka journalist!
How to put out a smelly splinter?
How to kill my smoking room?
Give me an advice. - Yes ... spit on him.

Drunk in zyuzyu

We find this expression in Alexander Pushkin, in the novel in verse "Eugene Onegin", when it comes to Lensky's neighbor - Zaretsky:
Falling off a Kalmyk horse,
Like a drunk zyuzya, and the French
Got captured...
The fact is that in the Pskov region, where Pushkin was in exile for a long time, "zyuzey" is called a pig. In general, “drunk like a zyuzya” is an analogue of the colloquial expression “drunk like a pig.”

Sharing the skin of an unkilled bear

It is noteworthy that back in the 30s of the 20th century it was customary in Russia to say: “Sell the skin of an unkilled bear.” This version of the expression seems closer to the original source, and more logical, because there is no benefit from the “divided” skin, it is valued only when it remains intact. The original source is the fable "The Bear and Two Comrades" by the French poet and fabulist Jean La Fontaine (1621-1695).

dusty story

In the 16th century, during fisticuffs, dishonest fighters took sandbags with them, and at the decisive moment of the fight they threw it into the eyes of their rivals. In 1726, this technique was banned by a special decree. At present, the expression "show off" is used in the sense of "create a false impression of one's capabilities."

Promised three years waiting

According to one version - a reference to the text from the Bible, to the book of the prophet Daniel. It says: “Blessed is he who waits and reaches a thousand and thirty-five days,” that is, three years and 240 days. The biblical call to patient waiting was jokingly rethought by the people, because the whole proverb sounds like this: “The promised three years are expected, and the fourth is denied.”

Retired goat drummer

In the old days, among wandering troupes, the main actor was a learned, trained bear, followed by a “goat”, dressed up with a goat skin on its head, and only behind the “goat” was a drummer. His task was to beat a homemade drum, calling the audience. Surviving by odd jobs or handouts is rather unpleasant, and here also the “goat” is not real, retired.

leavened patriotism

The expression was introduced into speech by Peter Vyazemsky. Leavened patriotism is understood as a blind adherence to obsolete and absurd "traditions" of national life and peremptory rejection of someone else's, foreign, "not ours."

Good riddance

In one of Ivan Aksakov's poems, one can read about the road, which is "straight, like an arrow, with a wide smooth surface that the tablecloth lay down." So in Russia they saw off on a long journey, and they did not put any bad meaning into them. This initial meaning of the phraseological unit is present in the Explanatory Dictionary of Ozhegov. But it is also said there that in the modern language the expression has the opposite meaning: "An expression of indifference to someone's departure, departure, as well as a wish to get out, anywhere." An excellent example of how ironic etiquette forms are rethought in the language!

Scream all over Ivanovskaya

In the old days, the square in the Kremlin, on which stands the bell tower of Ivan the Great, was called Ivanovskaya. On this square, clerks announced decrees, orders and other documents relating to the inhabitants of Moscow and all the peoples of Russia. So that everyone could hear well, the clerk read very loudly, shouted all over Ivanovskaya.

dance from the stove

To dance from the stove means to act according to an approved plan once and for all, without using any of your knowledge and ingenuity. This expression became famous thanks to the 19th century Russian writer Vasily Sleptsov and his book The Good Man. This is the story of Sergei Terebenev, who returned to Russia after a long absence. The return awakened childhood memories in him, the most vivid of which are dance lessons.
Here, he stands by the stove, legs in third position. Parents, yard servants are nearby and watch his progress. The teacher gives the command: "One, two, three." Seryozha begins to make the first “pas”, but suddenly he loses time, his legs tangle.
- Oh, what are you, brother! - Father says reproachfully. “Well, go about five to the stove, start over.”

How! Is the Kurilka journalist still alive?
- Lively! still dry and boring
And rude, and stupid, and tormented by envy,
Everything squeezes into its obscene sheet -
Both the old nonsense and the new nonsense.
- Ugh! Tired of the Kurilka journalist!
How to put out a smelly splinter?
How to kill my Smoking Room?
Give me an advice. - Yes ... spit on him.

Pushkin, 1825

In a letter dated March 3, 1825, Pletnev wrote to Pushkin: “ Kachenovsky keeps fussing about the “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, but he, the poor one, is no longer in the shops».

Pletnev was referring to a note published in Vestnik Evropy, 1825: A true writer will not dare to publish a work from which you will learn nothing more, except that someone was taken prisoner; that some young girl fell in love with a prisoner who could not love her mutually, having lost her life of voluptuousness, and finally, that the same girl freed him and drowned herself».

The note was signed by a pseudonym Yust Veridikov, behind which was hidden not the editor-publisher of the magazine Kachenovsky, as Pletnev and Pushkin thought, but probably M. A. Dmitriev.

On March 14, Pushkin wrote to his brother: Kachenovsky rebelled against me. Write to me if the tone of his critic is decent - if not, I will send an epigram". Lev Pushkin's answer, unknown to us, evoked Pushkin's epigram: Alive, alive smoking room!».

The text of the epigram is based on a song known at the time, which was sung during divination (it was included in the collection of Russian folk songs with notes, published by Prach in the 18th century, and also existed at the end of the 19th century):

Alive, alive smoking room
Alive, alive, but not dead.
At our smoking room
thin legs,
The soul is short.

Divination: they think of a desire, light a torch, you need to sing a song while the torch burns, then the plan will come true.

Alive Smoking Room

Alive Smoking Room

An expression from a folk children's song performed when playing the "Smoking room". The players sit in a circle and pass each other a burning torch with the refrain: "The Smoking Room is alive, alive, the legs are thin, the soul is short." The one in whose hands the torch goes out leaves the circle. This is where the expression “Kurilka is alive” came from, used as a playful exclamation when referring to the ongoing activities of insignificant people, as well as the continuous activities of someone in difficult conditions.

Dictionary of winged words. Plutex. 2004

See what "Alive Smoking Room" is in other dictionaries:

The smoker lives! an expression that has long been used in relation to people who, according to the general opinion, have ceased their activities, disappeared somewhere, disappeared, died, but are actually alive and busy with the same business. Contents 1 Origin ... ... Wikipedia

An expression from the old Russian folk children's game "Smoking Room". The rules are as follows: the players sit in a circle and pass each other a burning splinter, while singing a proverb corresponding to the song. The one in whose hands the splinter goes out is considered ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

◘ smoking room alive- ◘ ALIVE ALIVE SMOKING ROOM About a person living in conditions of incredible difficulties; about what exists for a long time, acts. How! Is the smoking-room journalist still alive? Livehonek! everything is just as dry and boring, And rude and stupid, And tormented by envy. // Pushkin.… … Dictionary of forgotten and difficult words from the works of Russian literature of the 18th-19th centuries

Adverb, number of synonyms: 1 alive (85) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

Alive smoking room- Shuttle. Someone who has already been forgotten about, lives and acts, shows his abilities in something. Bah, the smoking room is alive! laughed the governor. Gentlemen, look, our mayor is coming (Chekhov. Frost). From an old folk game in which with ... ... Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language

Alive Smoking Room- wing. sl. An expression from a folk children's song performed when playing the "Smoking Room". The players sit in a circle and pass each other a burning torch with the refrain: “The Smoking Room is alive, alive, the legs are thin, the soul is short.” The one in whose hands the torch goes out, ... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

alive, bitch!- joke. , iron. or approved. exclamation at the mention of the ongoing activity of someone, his existence, despite difficult conditions. The turnover goes back to the old game with a lit torch, which was passed from hand to hand, accompanying ... ... Phraseology Handbook

Razg. Shuttle. Who l. exists, acts, manifests itself despite difficult conditions. FSRYA, 217; BTS, 481; SHZF 2001, 75; 3S 1996, 315; DP, 54; BMS 1998, 323 ... Big dictionary of Russian sayings

the smoker is alive!- About the one who did not disappear despite life's failures, or about the one who was in obscurity for a long time and suddenly showed up ... Dictionary of many expressions

Alive, alive Churilka (or: Smoking room). Kurilka is alive, not dead. See PATIENCE HOPE... IN AND. Dal. Proverbs of the Russian people

Books

• Cola Breugnon The smoking room is alive, Rolland R. The book "Cola Breugnon" (1913) shows the life of the small French town of Clamcy and its inhabitants of the late 16th - early 17th centuries. Written in the manner of folklore stylization, the book recreates…

Origin of expression

Smoking room is an old children's game that existed not only in Russia, but also in France and Germany back in the 19th century.

Rules of the game: the players form a circle, along which they pass a burning or smoldering (smoking) splinter or straw from hand to hand, and at the same time they take turns singing a proverb song. There were a number of variants of this song (for example: “Smoking room is alive, alive, alive, alive, not dead!” or “Smoking room is alive, alive - thin legs, but you want to live so much!”). The player, in whose hands the torch went out, was eliminated from the game.

In art

How! Is the Kurilka journalist still alive?
- Lively! still dry and boring
And rude, and stupid, and tormented by envy,
Everything squeezes into its obscene sheet
Both the old nonsense and the new nonsense.
- Ugh! Tired of the Kurilka journalist!
How to put out a smelly splinter?
How to kill my smoking room?
Give me an advice. - Yes ... spit on him.

Modern usage

At present, the expression can be used both in an ironic sense (similar to Pushkin's), and as an expression of joy from meeting a person about whom there has been no news for a long time.

Links

• State Public Scientific and Technical Library of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

• zhiburtovich
• living dead girl

See what "Smoking room is alive" in other dictionaries:

Live Kurilka!- An expression from the old Russian folk children's game "Smoking Room". The rules are as follows: the players sit in a circle and pass each other a burning splinter, while singing a proverb corresponding to the song. The one in whose hands the splinter goes out is considered ... ...

◘ smoking room alive- ◘ ALIVE ALIVE SMOKING ROOM About a person living in conditions of incredible difficulties; about what exists for a long time, acts. How! Is the smoking-room journalist still alive? Livehonek! everything is just as dry and boring, And rude and stupid, And tormented by envy. // Pushkin.… … Dictionary of forgotten and difficult words from the works of Russian literature of the 18th-19th centuries

Alive Smoking Room- An expression from a folk children's song performed when playing the Smoking Room. The players sit in a circle and pass each other a burning torch with the refrain: Alive, alive Smoking room, thin legs, short soul. The one in whose hands the torch goes out comes out of ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

alive smoking room- adverb, number of synonyms: 1 living (85) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

Alive smoking room- Shuttle. Someone who has already been forgotten about, lives and acts, shows his abilities in something. Bah, the smoking room is alive! laughed the governor. Gentlemen, look, our mayor is coming (Chekhov. Frost). From an old folk game in which with ... ... Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language

Alive Smoking Room- wing. sl. An expression from a folk children's song performed when playing the "Smoking Room". The players sit in a circle and pass each other a burning torch with the refrain: “The Smoking Room is alive, alive, the legs are thin, the soul is short.” The one in whose hands the torch goes out, ... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

alive, bitch!- joke. , iron. or approved. exclamation at the mention of the ongoing activity of someone, his existence, despite difficult conditions. The turnover goes back to the old game with a lit torch, which was passed from hand to hand, accompanying ... ... Phraseology Handbook

Alive smoking room- Razg. Shuttle. Who l. exists, acts, manifests itself despite difficult conditions. FSRYA, 217; BTS, 481; SHZF 2001, 75; 3S 1996, 315; DP, 54; BMS 1998, 323 ... Big dictionary of Russian sayings

the smoker is alive!- About the one who did not disappear despite life's failures, or about the one who was in obscurity for a long time and suddenly showed up ... Dictionary of many expressions

Kurilka is alive, not dead.- Alive, alive Churilka (or: Smoking room). Kurilka is alive, not dead. See PATIENCE HOPE... IN AND. Dal. Proverbs of the Russian people

Books

• Cola Breugnon The smoking room is alive, Rolland R. The book "Cola Breugnon" (1913) shows the life of the small French town of Clamcy and its inhabitants of the late 16th - early 17th centuries. Written in the manner of folklore stylization, the book recreates…

Often we pronounce well-established phrases without delving into their meaning. Why, for example, do they say “goal like a falcon”? Who is a "smoker"? Why, finally, do they bring water to the offended? We will reveal the hidden meaning of these expressions.

Hot spot

The expression "hot spot" is found in the Orthodox prayer for the dead ("... in a hot place, in a resting place ..."). So in the texts in the Church Slavonic language is called paradise.
The meaning of this expression was ironically rethought by the raznochintsy-democratic intelligentsia of the times of Alexander Pushkin. The language game consisted in the fact that our climate does not allow growing grapes, therefore in Russia intoxicating drinks were produced mainly from cereals (beer, vodka). In other words, green means a drunken place.

They carry water on the offended

There are several versions of the origin of this saying, but the most plausible seems to be the one connected with the history of St. Petersburg water carriers. The price of imported water in the 19th century was about 7 kopecks of silver per year, and of course there were always greedy merchants who inflated the price in order to profit. For this illegal act, such unfortunate entrepreneurs were deprived of a horse and forced to carry barrels in a cart on themselves.

shabby look

This expression appeared under Peter I and was associated with the name of the merchant Zatrapeznikov, whose Yaroslavl linen manufactory produced both silk and wool, which were in no way inferior in quality to the products of foreign factories. In addition, the manufactory also made very, very cheap hemp striped fabric - mottled, "shabby" (rough to the touch), which went to mattresses, bloomers, sundresses, women's headscarves, work dressing gowns and shirts.
And if for rich people such a dressing gown was home clothes, then for the poor, things from shabby clothes were considered “going out” clothes. The shabby appearance spoke of the low social status of a person.

Sith friend

It is believed that a friend is so called by analogy with sieve bread, usually wheat. For the preparation of such bread, flour is used much finer grinding than in rye. To remove impurities from it and make the culinary product more “airy”, not a sieve is used, but a device with a smaller cell - a sieve. Therefore, the bread was called sieve. It was quite expensive, was considered a symbol of prosperity and was put on the table to treat the dearest guests.
The word "sitny" in relation to a friend means the "highest standard" of friendship. Of course, this turnover is sometimes used in an ironic tone.

7 Fridays in a week

In the old days, Friday was a market day, on which it was customary to fulfill various trade obligations. On Friday, the goods were received, and the money for it was agreed to be given on the next market day (on Friday of the next week). Those who broke such promises were said to have seven Fridays a week.
But this is not the only explanation! Friday was previously considered a free day from work, therefore, a loafer was characterized by a similar phrase, for whom every day is a day off.

Where Makar did not drive calves

One version of the origin of this saying is as follows: Peter I was on a working trip to Ryazan land and communicated with the people in an “informal setting”. It so happened that all the men he met on the way called themselves Makars. At first, the tsar was very surprised, and then said: “From now on, you should all be Makars!” Allegedly, since then, “Makar” has become a collective image of the Russian peasant and all peasants (not only Ryazan) began to be called Makars.

Sharashkin's office

The office got its strange name from the dialect word “sharan” (“trash”, “bad”, “rogue”). In the old days, this was the name given to a dubious association of swindlers and deceivers, but today it is simply an "undignified, unreliable" organization.

Not by washing, so by skating

In the old days, skilled laundresses knew that well-rolled linen would be fresh, even if the wash was not done brilliantly at all. Therefore, having sinned in washing, they achieved the desired impression “not by washing, but by rolling.”

Goal like a falcon

“Goal like a falcon,” we say about extreme poverty. But this proverb has nothing to do with birds. Although ornithologists say that falcons really lose their feathers during molting and become almost naked!
"Falcon" in the old days in Russia was called a ram, a tool made of iron or wood in the form of a cylinder. It was hung on chains and swung, thus breaking through the walls and gates of the enemy's fortresses. The surface of this weapon was even and smooth, simply speaking, bare.
The word "falcon" in those days called tools of a cylindrical shape: an iron scrap, a pestle for grinding grain in a mortar, etc. Sokolov was actively used in Russia until the advent of firearms at the end of the 15th century.

Alive smoking room

"Smoking room is alive!" - an expression from the old Russian children's game "Smoking Room". The rules were simple: the participants sat in a circle and passed a burning torch to each other, saying: “The smoking room is alive, alive! Thin legs, short soul. The one in whose hands the torch was extinguished left the circle. It turns out that the "smoking room" is not a person at all, as one might think, but a burning chip of which in the old days they illuminated the hut. She barely burned and smoked, as they said then "smoked".
Alexander Pushkin did not miss the chance to exploit this linguistic ambiguity in his epigram to the critic and journalist Mikhail Kachenovsky:
- How! Is the Kurilka journalist still alive?
- Lively! still dry and boring
And rude, and stupid, and tormented by envy,
Everything squeezes into its obscene sheet
Both the old nonsense and the new nonsense.
- Ugh! Tired of the Kurilka journalist!
How to put out a smelly splinter?
How to kill my smoking room?
Give me an advice. - Yes ... spit on him.

Drunk in zyuzyu

We find this expression in Alexander Pushkin, in the novel in verse "Eugene Onegin", when it comes to Lensky's neighbor - Zaretsky:
Falling off a Kalmyk horse,
Like a drunk zyuzya, and the French
Got captured...
The fact is that in the Pskov region, where Pushkin was in exile for a long time, "zyuzey" is called a pig. In general, “drunk like a zyuzya” is an analogue of the colloquial expression “drunk like a pig.”

Sharing the skin of an unkilled bear

It is noteworthy that back in the 30s of the 20th century it was customary in Russia to say: “Sell the skin of an unkilled bear.” This version of the expression seems closer to the original source, and more logical, because there is no benefit from the “divided” skin, it is valued only when it remains intact. The original source is the fable "The Bear and Two Comrades" by the French poet and fabulist Jean La Fontaine (1621-1695).

dusty story

In the 16th century, during fisticuffs, dishonest fighters took sandbags with them, and at the decisive moment of the fight they threw it into the eyes of their rivals. In 1726, this technique was banned by a special decree. At present, the expression "show off" is used in the sense of "create a false impression of one's capabilities."

Promised three years waiting

According to one version - a reference to the text from the Bible, to the book of the prophet Daniel. It says: “Blessed is he who waits and reaches a thousand and thirty-five days,” that is, three years and 240 days. The biblical call to patient waiting was jokingly rethought by the people, because the whole proverb sounds like this: “The promised three years are expected, and the fourth is denied.”

Retired goat drummer

In the old days, among wandering troupes, the main actor was a learned, trained bear, followed by a “goat”, dressed up with a goat skin on its head, and only behind the “goat” was a drummer. His task was to beat a homemade drum, calling the audience. Surviving by odd jobs or handouts is rather unpleasant, and here also the “goat” is not real, retired.

leavened patriotism

The expression was introduced into speech by Peter Vyazemsky. Leavened patriotism is understood as a blind adherence to obsolete and absurd "traditions" of national life and peremptory rejection of someone else's, foreign, "not ours."

Good riddance

In one of Ivan Aksakov's poems, one can read about the road, which is "straight, like an arrow, with a wide smooth surface that the tablecloth lay down." So in Russia they saw off on a long journey, and they did not put any bad meaning into them. This initial meaning of the phraseological unit is present in the Explanatory Dictionary of Ozhegov. But it is also said there that in the modern language the expression has the opposite meaning: "An expression of indifference to someone's departure, departure, as well as a wish to get out, anywhere." An excellent example of how ironic etiquette forms are rethought in the language!

Scream all over Ivanovskaya

In the old days, the square in the Kremlin, on which stands the bell tower of Ivan the Great, was called Ivanovskaya. On this square, clerks announced decrees, orders and other documents relating to the inhabitants of Moscow and all the peoples of Russia. So that everyone could hear well, the clerk read very loudly, shouted all over Ivanovskaya.

dance from the stove

To dance from the stove means to act according to an approved plan once and for all, without using any of your knowledge and ingenuity. This expression became famous thanks to the 19th century Russian writer Vasily Sleptsov and his book The Good Man. This is the story of Sergei Terebenev, who returned to Russia after a long absence. The return awakened childhood memories in him, the most vivid of which are dance lessons.
Here, he stands by the stove, legs in third position. Parents, yard servants are nearby and watch his progress. The teacher gives the command: "One, two, three." Seryozha begins to make the first “pas”, but suddenly he loses time, his legs tangle.
- Oh, what are you, brother! - Father says reproachfully. “Well, go about five to the stove, start over.”