Sometimes the semantic core of a phraseological unit has nothing to do with the existing meaning of the expression, nevertheless, its meaning is clear even to a person who is far from philology. The study of stable expressions can reveal deep secrets of mankind, the meaning of which has been preserved only in a stable phrase.
"To dance from the stove" is advised to a person if you need to repeat something from the beginning. At the same time, he does not have to dance in the literal sense of the word, the main thing is to start over. The question arises - why the stove in phraseological units is associated with the beginning.
Who and when danced from the stove
The most widespread version refers to the unfinished novel by a little-known writer of the 19th century V. Sleptsov "The Good Man". The protagonist of the novel recalls how he was taught to dance, and every time he failed to succeed in the next step, he was sent to the stove, from where the dance began.
However, this version raises doubts about its reliability. Of course, there are works, quotes from which become phraseological units, the same "Woe from Wit" by Griboyedov. But it is unlikely that a scene from the unfinished, and, therefore, unread by the majority of the public of the novel, could become to such an extent quoted.
In this case, we mean the architectural traditions, according to which the stoves were built in aristocratic houses. To make the stove take up less space, it was placed against the wall; when learning to dance, the movement began from the far wall in order to give the dancers more space.
One could consider this tradition a source of phraseological unit, if not for its other variant, no less widespread and having a similar meaning - “to dance from the stove”. You can hardly imagine young aristocrats dancing.
Who danced from the stove
The word "dance" itself fits more logically into folk traditions. That is, we can conclude about the more ancient origin of the phraseological unit. To clarify the situation, it makes sense to turn to folk traditions. In some Russian provinces, there was a wedding ritual for receiving a daughter-in-law into the family. The young wife walked from the stove, saying: "I am going from the stove, I read the rugs (I count)."
The wedding ceremony among many Slavic peoples was initiated with death and rebirth - a daughter leaving her parental home was considered lost for her native nest. And the appearance of a new member in the groom's family was associated with birth.
Here is the sacred meaning of the stove in the houses of the ancient Slavic peoples. The stove, the hearth - all this refers to ancient times, when people lived in caves. Some philologists even trace the connection between the words "oven" and "cave". The hearth meant fire, which means life, all magical dances took place around the fire. The hearth was conceived as the center of the clan, that is, the movement of the bride "from the stove" means the birth of a new family member.
This interpretation of the phraseological unit is rather similar to the Latin "ab ovo" - from the egg, that is, from the very beginning. The modern use of the expression "to dance from the stove", of course, is more frivolous, but its essence does not change from this - from the beginning.
