Phraseologism “Crocodile tears” meaning

A false manifestation of suffering, regret, repentance.

The expression "to shed" crocodile tears“we use in relation to an insincere person who hypocritically laments and sympathizes with us for some reason, the cause of which is often himself. They say that a person sheds crocodile tears when he falsely empathizes with us, grinning in his soul and rejoicing at the failures that have befallen us. This phraseological unit very accurately and succinctly characterizes an insincere and deceitful person, perfectly conveying the essence of his soul. But where did this popular expression come from in the Russian language, since our land is not famous for crocodiles?

This phraseology came to us from time immemorial, and it was based on the belief that crocodiles, when eating their prey, cry, feigning regret for the victim. This catchphrase was used in ancient Rome - references to it were found in the Constantinople library of Patriarch Photius (810-895). In Russian, phraseological units crocodile tears appeared as a result of a literal translation of the German word Krokodilstränen. In Weismann's book “German-Latin and Russian Lexicon” of 1731, this phraseological unit was first published and its characteristics were given. In the ancient Russian “Azbukovniki” there is an interpretation of this expression, which directly refers to the feigned tears of a crocodile and its habits.

But is this true, is the crocodile really so sensitive and sentimental that it sheds burning tears over its victim? For a very long time people thought this way. Of course, the fact remains: many studies have confirmed that the crocodile actually sheds a liquid similar to tears when eating food. However, this liquid has nothing to do with tears, especially tears of regret. There was even a version that these were not tears, but drool of lust for delicious food, manifested at the time of the meal. But all these versions are not true, but crocodile tears have a more down-to-earth explanation. The thing is that crocodiles have an imperfect system for removing excess salts from the body. And special glands that help the kidneys remove excess salts are located just near the eyes. This is why, during the operation of these glands, a liquid appears that is mistaken for tears. This theory explains why crocodiles do not always “cry” while eating.

That's the story phraseological unit crocodile tears. However, because we have finally learned the truth about the habits of crocodiles, this phraseological unit will not lose its meaning. It’s too precise, imaginative and convenient.

Example:

“Now they will no longer believe your repentance... Now you even shed the sources of tears - and then they will say that these are crocodile tears!” (Saltykov-Shchedrin).

Since ancient times, many peoples have believed that a crocodile cries when it eats its prey. And it seems that he is crying out of pity for the one he is now eating. Since “this cannot be, because it can never be,” then the expression crocodile tears(or shedding crocodile tears) in a figurative sense means to hypocritically show regret to one’s victim, to hypocritically worry, to show feigned condolences.

In fact, a crocodile has glands under its eyes through which excess salt is removed from the body. , which looks very similar to tears. By the way, our human tears also partially perform the function of removing salts - try your tears on your tongue - they are salty.

Crocodile tears- one of the few absolutely international phraseological units. It has been known since the times of ancient Rome. In Rome it meant “to shed tears over the vanquished.” In German dictionaries it looks like Krokodilstranen, in English the direct analogue is Crocodile tears.

In general, shedding crocodile tears among all nations means falsely, insincerely showing regret or sympathy for someone whom they themselves have destroyed.

During the heyday of the art song, the song “Monologue of the Nile Crocodile” was popular at bard festivals. I first heard about it in song back in 1979! The lyrics are cool, the guitar accompaniment is very simple - three chords.

Monologue of the Nile crocodile

I crawled out of the Nile onto the coastal sand,

Having eaten a cow's forehead.

And now crocodile tears are flowing down

On the sad cheeks into the toothy mouth.

I touch my swollen belly with my paw,

And the memories come again

That she was such a moonhorn,

Full of fire and charm.

She walked to the water with a tired gait,

Leaning over, she drank it, cold.

Then I kissed her on her scarlet lips,

And a hungry passion floated through my heart.

Oh, why did I like you so much?

Why were you irresistible?

Why did you return the kiss to me, beauty...

Where are you now, my beloved????...

It's good to lie down and soak in the sun,

And stroke the swollen belly with your paw....

I know everything will pass, everything will be digested....

Only tears are dripping and tears are dripping...

Alexander Bystritsky

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The Russian language is rich in catch phrases, phraseological units and aphorisms that accompany life and communication between people, often making it possible to most accurately describe a person’s emotion, behavior, character or situation. In this article we will analyze the origin of the expression “crocodile tears”, which is very entertaining, like many other stable phrases of our language.

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The meaning of phraseology

Many of us from early childhood understand or intuitively feel what this phraseological unit means. For those who don't know, let's explain what we mean. “Shedding crocodile tears” means insincerely lamenting and empathizing with the failure, misfortune or trouble of another, often being the culprit of what happened.

People who “shed crocodile tears” pretend to show sympathy and pity, while experiencing absolutely nothing of the kind inside, and perhaps secretly gloating and mocking. Deceit, deceit, pretense - these are the qualities, which most accurately characterize such people.

But you need to understand that this is not always what happens, and people who “shed crocodile tears” were the cause of the misfortune that occurred. Thus, a good example of illustrating the other side of the expression “crocodile tears” is insincere condolences and worries about the death of a stranger. After all, if we think logically, condolences are completely meaningless; they bring neither support nor relief from the suffering of other people. On the contrary, experiences that are exposed and not coming from the heart only irritate the wound.

It should be said that often this happens not even on the initiative of the sympathizer, “shedding crocodile tears,” but simply because it is so accepted. Death is the fate of everyone, and we should regret it a priori.

“Okay, but what do crocodiles have to do with it?” each of us will ask. And indeed, why are such negative characteristics suddenly compared to large reptiles, which also cry? Let's look into history and trace the origin of the phrase.

Origin

Turns out, the expression goes back centuries, during the times of ancient Egypt and Rome.

Scientific explanation

Indeed, the fact that when eating food, a certain liquid resembling tears is released from the eyes of a crocodile is beyond doubt. For a very long time, people did not find any other explanation for this, except that, having killed its prey and starting a bloody meal, the crocodile, being an impressionable animal with a subtle mental organization, cries and reproaches itself, but cannot do anything with its nature. But such a view was understandable and acceptable in ancient times. Nowadays, scientists have taken the issue seriously and come to quite scientific conclusions:

So, the usual physiological feature of ferocious predators, in no way connected with deceit, pretense, insincere and false compassion for the victim, served as the basis for superstitions and firmly entered the language and consciousness of peoples. Therefore, even knowledge and understanding of the true cause of “crocodile tears” did not cause the expression to disappear and lose its former popularity. Imagery of people's thinking, conciseness and accuracy of characterization will always be stronger than any scientific arguments.

Russian is often considered one of the most difficult languages. And although it is not included in the top 10, many difficulties may arise in the process of studying it. We are talking not only about its native speakers, but also about foreigners. The Russian language has a huge number of rules and even more exceptions to them. Also causing a number of difficulties is the lack of fixity in the arrangement of words in sentences and the phenomenon of polysemy. Other Slavic peoples can master the Russian language without much difficulty: Belarusians, Ukrainians, Czechs, Slovaks, Poles. Representatives of the Asian world (Chinese, Japanese, Koreans) are unlikely to call this process easy. After all, Slavic languages, including Russian, are structured differently and are unusual for the brain of an Asian resident, and therefore difficult to understand and study.

Science of phraseology

It is not for nothing that many admired the beauty of the Russian language, calling it “great and powerful.” A huge number of works of art that have replenished the treasury of world literature are written in Russian. It opens up great opportunities for writers due to its versatility and expressiveness. Epithets, metaphors, personifications, hyperboles - these and other means of artistic expression make speech richer.

This list can safely include phraseological units. Crocodile tears is a speech pattern that has become widespread in the speech of Russians along with the expressions sit in a puddle, make a mountain out of a molehill, kill it on the nose and others. There are quite a lot of them in the Russian language. In bookstores you can find dictionaries that contain the most popular expressions. There is also an interpretation of each turn.

A distinctive feature of phraseological units is the absence of an author. You can trace the history of the emergence of a phrase, but it is impossible to name the person who first used this or that phraseological unit. Their main purpose is to give speech a certain emotional coloring and enhance its meaning. A phraseological unit can be recognized by several features:

1. Inability to rearrange words.

2. Replacing the speech pattern with one word that has a similar meaning.

3. The presence of figurative meaning.

Crocodile tears: the meaning of phraseology

This turn of phrase is used when talking about an insincere person who outwardly sympathizes with his interlocutor, but at the same time experiences completely opposite feelings. A similar expression exists in several languages, not only in Russian. For example, in English, a phrase similar in meaning crocodile tears appeared in the 16th century, in German the expression krokodilstranen arose around 1730.

Which is correct?

You can find two variants of the same phraseological unit:

1. Listening to my story about the tragic fate of Sonya, he wet himself crocodile tears.

2. Masha, you should avoid crocodile tears.

Many people wonder which usage is erroneous and which is correct. The adjective with the suffix -ov- is used when talking about material obtained from the skin of a predator (for example, a bag made of crocodile skin). The possessive adjective crocodile is used when talking about something that belongs to an animal (for example, crocodile eggs). In the case of phraseological units, it is permissible to use both options in speech.

First cases of use

Expression has an ancient history. It is first found in the texts of the ancient Romans. The famous library of Constantinople possessed books in which this speech pattern was presented. There are also references to this phraseological unit. In particular, in the book “The Travels of Sir John Mandeville,” which became widespread in England between 1357 and 1371, it is said that in Ethiopia there are crocodiles that cry while eating people.

A little about crocodiles

But where did this expression come from?

Crocodiles are known to leak fluid from their eyes when they eat. For a long time it was believed that these were tears that a predator sheds for its prey. Later, a famous medieval author in one of his treatises made the assumption that crocodiles’ tears do not appear out of pity and sympathy for the victim. This liquid is nothing more than drool before the most desired food. It is with this prejudice that the emergence of this phraseological unit is connected.

Also, a point of view later appeared according to which the liquid that flows from the eyes of crocodiles has nothing to do with pity. In fact, they have an underdeveloped system aimed at removing excess salts from the body. The glands that remove salts from the kidneys are located near the eyes. This is why crocodiles do not always cry, but only when these glands are working. This discovery, made by Swedish scientists, did not affect the phraseology. It's still popular.

When should you use turnover? ? The meaning suggests the answer: when you need to talk about a deceitful, insincere person who publicly expresses feelings that he does not experience.

Let's give examples

1. No one will believe your sympathy, everyone knows what it is .

2. Wolf pack lila over the body of the lamb they killed.

So, if one person complains to another about the vicissitudes of fate, but understands that the sympathy of the interlocutor is nothing more than a farce, then he should be advised not to pour . After all, people are not given the opportunity to know in advance what situation they may find themselves in after some time. And a public demonstration of insincere emotions can play a cruel joke in the future.

Various popular expressions, so-called aphorisms, have become firmly established in our lives. In this article we will look at the following expression: “Shedding crocodile tears.” Many people probably know the meaning of the phraseological unit, but its origin remains a mystery. Why was the crocodile given such an honor - to be mentioned in this phraseological unit?

"Crocodile Tears" The meaning of phraseology

This expression is usually used in relation to a person who insincerely laments and sheds tears over someone whom, as a rule, he himself has destroyed. Such people demonstratively show pity, but in their hearts they gloat and rejoice. "Crocodile" tears are fake and deceitful. Unfortunately, there are people who not only can destroy someone, they will also put on a performance, expressing “regret” for the torment of their victim and shedding “crocodile tears.” The meaning of the phraseological unit is as follows: “crocodile tears” is a pretense that is inherent in especially insidious people. Why are these human individuals compared to crocodiles? This is no accident. Crocodiles have a certain feature that gave birth to this expression.

Origin of the saying

In ancient Egypt, crocodiles were considered bearers of evil.

They tried to appease them, fed them and addressed them with spells in order to pacify their anger. People considered these reptiles to be treacherous and bloodthirsty. This served as a reason for various fantasies. For example, there is a belief among many peoples of the world that a crocodile cries out of “pity” when eating its prey. This belief did not appear out of nowhere. In fact, it was noticed that while eating food, a liquid similar to tears actually flows out of the crocodile’s eyes.

Even in ancient Greece, this feature of reptiles was used in theatrical performances. The sight of crying crocodiles is very firmly entrenched in the memory of the Greeks. The tears pouring from the eyes of the bloodthirsty reptiles while eating their prey excited the imagination. A little later, the Romans picked up the baton. They also began to use the expression "crocodile tears." The meaning of the phraseological unit expressed feigned sympathy for a defeated opponent. Just as a crocodile “cries” after destroying its victim, so the winner, who has defeated the enemy, “sympathizes” with the loser, rejoicing in his soul and rejoicing in victory.

Do crocodiles really cry when they eat their prey?

For a very long time, people did not know the true reason for the origin of crocodile tears during meals. Endowing the reptile with human feelings, the ancient people could only explain this by saying that the crocodile felt sorry for the victim whom it had taken life. And if for the ancient Greeks this was still excusable, then in the modern world this fact raised serious doubts. Scientists tried to find out what kind of liquid is secreted from the eyes of a crocodile. And this is the conclusion they came to: due to underdeveloped kidneys, reptiles have formed special glands to remove salts from the body. The ducts of the glands are located near the crocodile's eyes, therefore, during the operation of the glands, it is from the eyes of reptiles that a liquid is released that has nothing to do with tears. Thus, crocodile tears are not tears of regret at all. This is just a feature of the body’s functioning, removing excess salts.

Although scientists have found out the cause of the crocodile’s “tears,” the phraseology “crocodile tears” has firmly entered our speech. We found out the meaning and origin of the phraseological unit. However, knowledge of the true origin of “tears” in reptiles has not led to the fact that this saying has lost its popularity. It is still used exactly in the sense that was originally intended in it.

"Crocodile Tears" The meaning of phraseology briefly

Summarizing everything written above, we can draw the following conclusion. If you meet in your life an insidious and vile person who has caused you or someone else some harm, and who at the same time falsely sympathizes with his “victim,” you can characterize his insincere manifestations using the expression “crocodile tears.” The meaning of the phraseological unit, in this case, will help you briefly and clearly indicate that you do not believe such “sympathy” and see the true intentions of a vile person who has nothing to do with the concept of “compassion”.