Accurate expressions that can express a person's emotional state much more accurately than ordinary words come into speech in different ways. Some phrases were used by artisans, others were associated with some event, and others came from a foreign language. It is to the third category that the word "perdimonocles" belongs.
Word or phrase?
In Russian, "perdimonocle" has become a word. The phrase sounds like "complete perdimonocle". In fact, this is a French expression that consists of two parts. It would be more correct to say "perdumonocle", but the Russian language has made its own adjustments. So, this phrase originally contains the verb perdu, which in French means "lost", and the noun "monocle" - a monocle, that is, a glass that was inserted into the eye. In the exact translation, "perdimonocle" is a lost monocle.
Wearing a monocle was akin to art. In a secular society, losing him was a big embarrassment.
Theatrical bike
Several legends are associated with the word "perdimonocles". The most popular looks and the most authentic. It was a stage technique that was used so often that it became a kind of cliche. Pay attention to how the "true gentleman" wears a monocle, or even better - try it yourself. You will find that it is not so easy to hold the round glass in the eye. The muscles should be tense, the eye slightly squinted. Now imagine that you are very surprised by something. A person in such a situation can no longer control facial expressions, muscles relax, eyebrows rise, and … the monocle falls. So this very mysterious "Perdimonocles" happened.
Theater experts are still arguing about who was the first to use this technique, but it is unlikely that it will be possible to find out for sure.
Change of value
Originally, the word "perdimonocles" meant extreme surprise. That is, in everyday speech, people followed the old theatrical tradition. However, the language is gradually changing, and the usual words take on a different meaning. So it happened with the "lost monocle". Now this word means not only amazement, but also defines a situation from which the speaker does not see a way out, but still can relate to it with humor. This is not a complete collapse yet, but a very big nuisance.
Russian equivalent
Only a hundred years ago, the French language was extremely popular in Russia. To one degree or another, all more or less educated people knew him. A mixture of "French and Nizhny Novgorod" was also an almost ubiquitous phenomenon, especially among the bourgeoisie, poor merchants, etc. It was in these circles that French words were often transformed into something closer to the Russian ear. There were also replacements. For example, the expression "full perdimonocle" in the meaning of "extremely surprised me event" has a Russian equivalent. The same condition is indicated by the phrase “the eye fell out”. Of course, a real eye cannot fall out of surprise, but the glass inserted into the eye socket is easy.
