A teaspoon per hour. A teaspoon per hour: the meaning of phraseological units and examples of use Do an hour per teaspoon

I became again just before I was supposed to turn thirty. Thirty, you know, it sounds. What exactly does this sound like to me? This is what I tried to understand, turning in circles along the routes well-trodden far and wide, where I was once born, studied, and worked.

Here is the bustling intersection of Sredny and the 9th line, where pedestrians are working like penguins, waiting for the green signal. If you go to the left, you will run into Smolenka, to the right, you will run into the buildings of St. Petersburg State University. In the direction of Bolshoy Prospekt - hello, district administration. Towards Lenexpo? Great, I used to work there too.

The Sportivnaya metro station was recently opened, but at the entrance to the native Vasileostrovskaya metro station, as well as at the exit, there is again a crush, just like seven years ago. And in this crush I am again in the role of a pedestrian, just like seven years ago. How did this happen? Where did my car go and why haven’t I gotten a new one yet?

Not far from the metro there is the same beauty salon, and there Katya is a master from God. It's amazing to see my hair in her magical hands again. I must admit, I have rarely met such people. So I’m going to the MFC past the Academy of Civil Service to change documents. And, sitting opposite the girl behind the glass (I wonder if she also graduated?) I understand that on my left is my university, on my right is the maternity hospital, and I am in the middle. At the central point of parallels and perpendiculars of the island.

I go into a familiar tanning studio on the 7th line. Alas, she has completely deteriorated. Apparently, the lamps there have not been changed since I graduated in 2009. The same nook, the same mirror. Same me. Or is it still not the same?

All the same infrastructure, all the same shops and numerous cafes. Cafe... All five years of my student life I ate haphazardly. Business lunches and dinners were an unaffordable luxury back then. Lunch at Teaspoon - only in case of emergency. “Two sticks” - only in senior years and on special holidays: defense of a thesis, for example, or a successfully passed exam. In short, a teaspoon per hour. The rest of the time - chocolates and yoghurts in various combinations.

It will be later, in senior years, the family will become better off with money. I will have my first BMW, the opportunity to visit Europe, see London. Get your license and start correcting your bite. Take computer courses at Baumanka and Polytechnic. But then, at the beginning of the journey, there was nothing of this in the project. There was the unknown, the poverty of St. Petersburg communal apartments, the austerity regime and calls from middle-aged “benefactors” who offered to help the young girl financially. Naturally, on a reimbursable basis.

In general, when I again found myself at a familiar crossroads, I got down to business. For two months, during lunch breaks, I visited all the food establishments: KFC, McDonald's, Marchelli's and, of course, Teaspoon. I ate for two: myself and that hungry student, for whom a couple of pancakes in a catering establishment were an unaffordable luxury. And, washing down the pancake with compote, she summed up the results of her thirtieth birthday and remembered. This is where K’s roaring laughter sounded. S. was renting an apartment on the next street and it was the starting point when the whole crowd headed out to the legendary Metro club for the night.

What did I dream about then? What did you plan? What did you live for? What would I tell my then self if she were here now? What would I read in her eyes when looking at myself today? Disappointment? Astonishment? Delight? Hope?

What would I have experienced then, having learned that I was only turning thirty? That I will achieve everything I strived for in my profession, not in ten years, as planned, but in just five. That I would go to study to become a psychologist, although I swore that one diploma would be enough for my eyes and ears. Well, in Russia over the years I will have experienced at least three economic crises. That family happiness does not happen on its own - this also requires a lot of contribution. That I was once greatly deceived by saying that if you work hard, you will definitely be rich. That there are no clear answers or universal recipes. That the world is very changeable and there are no guarantees. At all.

Well, except for one thing: student hunger can be satisfied in two months. If you feed yourself normally, and not a teaspoon every hour. That’s exactly what it took for me to stop greedily devouring fast food during lunch breaks.

Surprisingly, a completely secular phraseology with the meaning of “indulging in something uncontrollably”, “acting decisively and recklessly” came to us from the church. Large and heavy bells were called heavy, therefore, when they struck all the heavy bells (in the original Old Slavonic version - “all the heavy”), a very loud sound was obtained. Gradually, the expression “to go all out” was transformed into “to hit”, and later “to go all out” and acquired a modern meaning.

In (after) an hour, a teaspoon

Once upon a time, the pharmacist wrote by hand directly on the bottles of medicines how to use medicines. This phrase is one such recipe. Now, a teaspoon per hour - very slowly, hesitantly, with stops - you can do whatever you want. Why exactly this dosage has taken root, history is silent.

Cheap and cheerful

It is widely believed that the word “angry” has a common root with the word “heart”, so a cheap but angry gift is a gift at a modest price, but from the heart. The phraseological dictionary gives a different interpretation. The adjective “angry” used to describe items of “good quality, with a high price.” Therefore, this word gives the catchphrase the meaning of “inexpensive, but suitable for its purpose.”

How to give something to drink

When we are absolutely convinced of something, for example, that an event will happen, we can say: “I hope it will happen.” Where does this confidence come from and what does this have to do with drinks? The fact is that previously a tired traveler could knock on any house and ask for water. The owners always fulfilled this request.

To the fullest extent

Whether it's to live, celebrate or have fun, doing something to the fullest means giving it your all. Also, when fishermen are especially trying to catch a fish, they throw out the hook along the entire length of the fishing line wrapped around the reel on the fishing rod. The expression came from this analogy.

On a grand scale

The turnover appeared with the light hand (or rather, the foot) of English King Henry II. A growth suddenly formed on the monarch’s thumb, which he could not get rid of using medical methods. Then he ordered himself special shoes - long, with toes turned up. The courtiers decided that this was a new fashion, and also stocked up on similar shoes. The new shoes became so popular that they entailed legal restrictions on the length of socks: for ordinary citizens - no more than half a foot, for knights and barons - one, and for counts - two. Thus, shoe size became an indicator of a person's wealth.

Slurping unsalted

This is exactly how many Russian folk tales end, the heroes of which do not achieve their goal or do not receive satisfaction from the outcome of the matter. The expression is associated with the peculiarities of life in Rus'. At that time, salt was worth its weight in gold, so it was only put in dishes for dear or important guests. Ordinary people left after tasting only bland food.

For beautiful eyes (for beautiful eyes)

Nowadays this expression is usually addressed to beautiful ladies, to whom you can forgive a lot without demanding anything in return. However, initially it was about the eyes of men - the heroes of the comedy Jean-Baptiste Moliere"Funny primps." Rejected by the mannered beauties, the admirers decided to teach the girls a lesson and sent their servants, disguised as nobles, to charm the pretentious girls. At the climax, the would-be suitors burst into the house and revealed the deception. One of them told the girls that if they fell in love with impostors, it would be only for their beautiful eyes.

Down the drain

If someone bitterly announces that the matter has gone down the drain, it means that his efforts were in vain, and he must either accept the result or start the work again. The phraseological unit was borrowed from the speech of draftsmen, who, in case of an error, had to wash out, that is, erase what they had created. It’s interesting that the expression was originally written separately – “for fun.”

After the rain on Thursday

This year it is difficult to imagine a summer without rain. However, in Rus' drought sometimes reached such proportions that the harvest was in danger of being destroyed. In such cases, the peasants prayed to the thunder god Perun and tearfully asked to send them heavenly moisture. The Thunderer, however, used to ignore these appeals. And, since the fourth day of the week was considered dedicated to Perun, the expression “after the rain on Thursday” arose, that is, it is unknown when or never at all.

Right off the bat

This expression, meaning “immediately, without delay” and, in some cases, “without preparation,” has nothing to do with the place where the minerals are mined. We are talking about a very fast running horse, which riders switched to on command during a cavalry attack.

Quietly

During times of active war, prudent city leaders built a system of fortifications around the territories entrusted to them in order to hold out the enemy. No less prudent military leaders hired sappers - those who dug hidden tunnels to these fortifications and then blew them up. Such trenches were called “saps”. Hence the expression “slyly” - on the sly, unnoticeably.

At least henna

The vague “henny” in this phrase comes from the verb “whine” (or “hunt”), which meant to pronounce various kinds of interjections (for example, “hm”, “um”) and nasal sounds. If a person even gives a damn, he is absolutely indifferent to what is happening. At least he would give a voice!

The mood is terrible.

I don't want to do anything.

Whatever I try, everything falls out of my hands.

There is a desire to take over and fire everyone.

But where will I get new employees?

I explain, I tell, I ask, I demand.

They listen to me, and everything remains the same.

I remember how I did it back in the day.

One day he couldn’t stand it, he called the editor on duty Alla Vitalievna Perevalova (she went to my seminar for several years) and said: “That’s it! The newspaper ceases its life. Make an announcement about it."

And he fired all the employees. The newspaper believed and did not believe everything that was happening. My students worked there at that time: Sergei Paramonov, Vita Malygina, Maria Barabash, Vladimir Safronov and others.

Simon Lvovich Soloveichik

True, the next day Simon Lvovich Soloveichik, having calmed down, withdrew his order and returned the employees to the editorial office.

Today I could hardly resist doing the same.

Getting fired is easy, but later it will be difficult.

I'm tired of banging my head against the wall.

I'm tired of proving to everyone and everything that computer literacy is needed.

I'm tired of telling people to spend their time wisely.

I’m tired of proving the obvious: a culture of work is needed, including at the computer.

You can’t poke at the computer keyboard, typing a teaspoon per hour.

This is how we work, work - I’m talking about the process of creating a document, writing certain papers - ministers, their deputies, heads of main departments, clerks, teachers, doctors, directors, artists, journalists, writers, critics, archivists, librarians ( I’ll continue to list – I won’t finish by morning).

I’d rather look at the faces of the new soloists now and calm down.

Here they are, the faces.

But the truth is, they are good people. Thanks to them.

I absolutely love making other people happy. In this case, I myself feel joy. Often, when signing books, I write: “Make yourself and those around you happy more often.” But our officials, in my opinion, have a different slogan: “Make sure that whoever enters your office leaves upset.”

Yours, Vladimir Vladimirovich Shakhidzhanyan

P.S. Today, when I publish this diary (the end of September, and I’m writing about the end of March), everyone is talking about how libraries are coming to an end. For more than three years I persuaded Sergei Aleksandrovich Kapkov to give me any library. I promised to turn it into a very popular club in a short time, where smart, talented people would gather and gain intelligence. They promised me three years, but in the end they showed me nothing.

Sergey Alexandrovich Kapkov

I took this photo in the office of the Chairman of the City Duma, where we had a meeting with Sergei Alexandrovich, and in the presence of the head of the Moscow City Duma, Vladimir Platonov, he promised to quickly resolve all issues. Give it and forget it. And I didn’t decide anything.

Why do we live so poorly? Because we can promise to solve a small problem for three years, and then still refuse to solve it.

Bravo, Sergei Alexandrovich Kapkov! You haven’t worked for a long time, but your business lives on. Many leaders I meet give their word and forget about it.

The sweetest pleasure is to give pleasure to others.

Stanislaus Jean de Boufflet (1737 - 1815), marquis, French poet and politician

do smb.; take place

Little by little and infrequently; So slow.