The meaning of some proverbs does not need explanation, and the meaning of some remains incomprehensible. No one can explain why it is necessary to carry water to the offended, what else they have done wrong. But where this or that expression came from, you can trace it.
It is humiliating to be offended. The saying "they carry water to the offended" aggravates the situation. But where did the expression come from and in the Russian mentality to supplement the list of humiliations with additional options? This can be learned only by tracing the entire path of transformations of the phrase.
In Russian, there are several versions of the proverb, and only half of the phrase is in widespread use. In its full version, it looks like this: "they carry water to the offended, and fire to the offenders." In addition, there is an earlier version - “they carry water on the angry, and bricks on the inflated ones”, “they carry water to the angry on a stubborn horse”, “they carry water to the angry, they bake bread for hot ones”, “ice is frozen."
Surprising question - why am I a water carrier
All these expressions are united by one thing - the transportation of water, and the characteristics of the carrier. It is known that water carriers worked on horses, therefore, it makes sense to consider the characteristics of the horses on which the transportation was made.
It is clear that it is not possible to bring water in an open barrel without loss on a frisky young trotter, therefore, calm, often written off workhorses, one might say, offended by God, were chosen for this role. In this context, the traditional understanding of the phrase, as a call not to humiliate oneself with an offense and not be like a decommissioned labor force, is relatively justified.
But then how to understand the original sound of the proverb, with the key word - angry?
Why carry water to the angry
The use of synonyms has somewhat changed the meaning of the proverb. The fact of transformation of the meaning of folk wisdom itself is not unique, take, for example, the proverb "work is not a wolf, it will not run away into the forest", which in the modern sense means the ability to postpone work for an indefinite period. In reality, the essence of the proverb is that the work will not go anywhere, and it will have to be done in any case. Moreover, the meaning has changed even without lexical changes.
With the replacement of the key word, the meaning of the proverb changed, which in its original meaning rather called for a sober, cold-blooded analysis of the behavior of an object.
The rhythmic warehouse of the expression "they carry water on the angry, and on the blown bricks" allows us to make an assumption about the use of the phrase as a teaser. Inflated in this context are inflatable tires that soften the ride when transporting delicate goods and, play on words, inflated, meaning inflated, offended.
"Offended" in argo
Probably, there is no point in revising the meaning of the proverb in the interpretation of a certain category of the population, where “offended” means the lowest category of convicts. Any, the brightest thought can be perverted.
