How can one determine the activities of people who weave endless intrigues, but who, as a rule, are not worth the candle, because the jackpot is not so great? Of course, there are many phraseological definitions in culture, but we will talk about one, namely the expression “mouse fuss.” The meaning of phraseological units occupies us today.
Origin
Of course, there are also cute mice, such as white laboratory mice. True, their fate is unenviable, but they look good. But the stable phrase is not about them, but about their fellow pests, who usually cause mischief in houses: they destroy cereal stocks, mark the territory with waste from their vital activity, gnaw fabrics and furniture. And what is typical is that they sneak in, as a rule, silently, damage property and leave just as quietly, leaving traces of their presence in the room. This is the origin of the expression “mouse fuss.” The meaning of the phraseological unit follows along with examples of use.
Projection of mouse behavior on human society
Due to their naturally harmful nature, rats and mice are not held in high esteem by people. But if mice live this way obeying instinct, then a person freely chooses his behavior strategy. Therefore, when a person begins to behave unworthily - to weave intrigues against a neighbor or colleague, and such moves will bring him two rubles - this is defined by other people as “mouse fuss” (the meaning of the phraseological unit becomes clear if we look at its origin).
The phenomenon of mouse fuss is present in almost every team. There is an opinion that women are more prone to petty intrigues, but it is wrong, because everything depends on the level of moral development of a person.
Gossip, gossip and petty intrigues are not alien to men either. Psychologists say that the stronger sex is even more inclined to discuss rumors than the fair sex.
Thus, the expression “mouse fuss” (the meaning of the phraseological unit has already been partially revealed by us) is universal and relevant in almost any situation, because there are mouse people in any professional community.
Variations in meaning
In addition to senseless and merciless intrigues, the phrase “mouse fuss” can also mean minor useless troubles. The easiest way to explain this facet of the meaning of a phraseological unit is through a reference to its “colleague” - “a squirrel in a wheel.” Here the two come closer in meaning. And sometimes it happens that intrigues are meaningless troubles, because they do not imply any result or benefit at all, and the only result is a damaged relationship with a person.
Tonality of expression
Based on its origin and meaning, it can be understood that it is difficult to praise with the expression “mouse fuss” (its meaning is very disparaging and is not suitable for these purposes).
Kids in the 90s had a lot of mindless, but generally cute, things to do. For example, collecting chewing gum inserts. To the adults of that time, it probably seemed like a frivolous activity. And hypothetically, a parent could approach the child and say, pointing to the candy wrappers: “What are you doing, what kind of mouse fuss?” Only a heartless adult, of whom, unfortunately, there are many, would do this.
Two neighbors and a race of vanity
Some people love to compete, and they compete mainly with their neighbors. For example, there are conditional three neighbors. Two compete with each other, and the third is in the role of an outside observer. The subject of dispute between people living nearby should be visible and tangible - cars. One has a better car than the other. And the loser is exhausted, works hard to earn money. And finally he gets himself a new car - better than his neighbor's. And the neighbor (a bad person) has already bought himself another - an elite foreign car.
How can an outside observer comment on this process? Of course, only: “Well, what kind of mouse fuss is that?!” In fact, the proposal can be absolutely anything, the main thing is that the gap between the goal and the means of achieving it is shown.
Mouse scurrying, mouse scurrying, mouse vanity, vanity, life, mouse scurrying, vanity of vanities Dictionary of Russian synonyms. mouse fuss noun, number of synonyms: 9 stupid activity... Synonym dictionary
RAT RACE- that petty intrigues, unworthy deeds. This refers to a group of people participating in situations related to the division of property, the distribution of spheres of influence, the acquisition of a new social status, etc., often for the purpose of obtaining personal gain.... ... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Language
rat race- Mouse fuss (running around, fuss) Trouble, fuss over little things, trifles... Dictionary of many expressions
Mouse fuss (fuss)- Razg. Iron. Petty chores, worries, activities. FSRY, 75, 463; BTS, 567; ZS 1996, 230 ...
mouse running- noun, number of synonyms: 7 lives mouse running (6) mouse fuss (9) mouse fuss ... Synonym dictionary
mouse fuss- noun, number of synonyms: 7 lives mouse running (6) mouse running (7) ... Synonym dictionary
FUCK- Mouse fuss (fuss). Razg. Iron. Petty chores, worries, activities. FSRY, 75, 463; BTS, 567; ZS 1996, 230 ... Large dictionary of Russian sayings
Mouse hustle- See Mouse fuss (FUCK) ... Large dictionary of Russian sayings
fuss- And; and.; decomposition 1) Random noisy movements (during play, wrestling, etc.) The children made a fuss. 2) with whom than. A business, an activity that causes a lot of trouble and requires painstaking work. There is a lot of fuss with pies. 3) decomposition Secretive activities; intrigue... Dictionary of many expressions
fuss- And; and. Razg. 1. Random noisy movements (during play, wrestling, etc.). The children made a fuss. 2. with whom than. A business, an activity that causes a lot of trouble and requires painstaking work. There is a lot of fuss with pies. 3. Unlock Secretive activities; intrigue... encyclopedic Dictionary
Books
- Board game "Mouse Fuss" (12120036 RUR), . A lot of mice settled in a huge house. They staged a real mouse fuss there for tasty pieces of cheese. The mice deftly jump from hole to hole, collecting cheese and getting in each other's way. But they must... Buy for 1000 rubles
- Rat race. Collection of stories, Sergei Goncharov. “Caution, the doors are closing,” or Why can’t you ride the subway? How to become a master? What lies beyond the dream horizon? How to prevent a chimera from ruining your life? How long does one really live...
Meaning phraseological unit "mouse fuss" has a rather negative connotation.
But along the way, we managed to find a positive side in it, fascinating side .
Let's look at the meaning and origin, synonyms and antonyms, as well as sentences with phraseological units from the works of writers.
The meaning of phraseology
Rat race – petty chores, worries, activities; petty intrigues, unworthy deeds
Phraseologisms-synonyms: mouse scurry, vanity of vanities
Phraseologisms-antonyms: go all in (partially), be out of this world (partially)
In foreign languages there are expressions with similar meanings. Among them:
- petty intrigues (English)
- remue-ménage (French)
- viel Aufheben um (German)
Origin of phraseology
Only at the last moment did I manage to find a second version of the origin of the expression, and this certainly made me happy:
- As one can easily assume, the main version is based on the transfer of the peculiarities of their behavior and habits to people and their relationships with each other, which is very common in the case of the presence of animals and birds in phraseological units. Accordingly, the rustling, running, squeaking of mice somewhere in the underground or in the attic at night, disturbing us, but not too much, from sleeping peacefully, are easily associated with our small troubles, everyday “squeaking”, as well as with the petty intrigues of others. However, in likening oneself to these vain brothers of ours, no one usually finds anything pleasant. This is confirmed by the examples below of the use of expressions from the works of writers.
- According to Yu.N. Reznik, the expression “mouse fuss” comes from the ancient Greek epic “Batrachomyomachy” (“War of Mice and Frogs”), which became famous in Russia. In particular, in the unfinished translation of the poet Zhukovsky. This is a parody epic of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, at one time even attributed to Homer himself, but later attributed to the Hellenistic period. This work became the founder of burlesque, a type of poetry that presents a sublime theme in a parodic manner. By the way, in a figurative sense, “batrachomyomachy” or “war of mice and frogs” means a clash over an insignificant reason (usually equally insignificant rivals). It can be assumed that in our country this expression was “domesticated” and turned into “mouse fuss.”
In general, it seems to me that what is more important is not which version of the origin of a phraseological unit is correct, but that there is a certain choice, a variety of versions.
Examples from the works of writers
Proud will and independence are not afraid of anyone and openly follow their chosen path, despising lies and mouse running. (I.A. Goncharov, “Cliff”)
They sang obscene songs. They danced shamelessly. They laughed. Here and there an absurd fuss of mice could be heard. (F.K. Sologub, “In the Crowd”)
About what? We don’t even have anything to talk about with you: what worries me is a book with seven locks for you, well, I’m sorry, I’m not interested in all this mouse fuss on which you spend so much energy... (V.A. Kaverin, “Open Book”).
This mouse fuss, these delights of Usoltsev drove Novikov crazy. Sasha Zaslavsky shared his impatience. And Usoltsev kept coming up with new tests. (D.A. Granin, “Seekers”)
This is not time at all, but mouse fuss: now there is no water in the house, now there is no electricity, now the telephone does not work, now Andrey’s son brings a bad grade from school, now public transport does not work, and as for money, there is always no money in the house. (S.P. Zalygin, “Preface”)
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From birth to death, people are busy with their small everyday affairs, solving unnecessary and meaningless problems that they essentially create for themselves. They weave various intrigues and conspiracies, trying to " twist"For yourself, a fatter piece, but is the game worth the candle? Of course, our smart people could not just pass by, and came up with several expressions, words and concepts that aptly and accurately characterize such vicissitudes. Today we will talk about one of them, this Rat race, which means you can read a little below. This resource contains many articles in which we explain the words and phrases that people use in their everyday speech. Therefore, be sure to add us to your bookmarks so as not to miss the latest publications that we publish quite regularly.
However, before I continue, I would like to recommend reading a few more news items on the topic of phraseological units and sayings. For example, what does it mean: Don’t teach me how to live, it’s better to help me financially; the meaning of the phrase Soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done; meaning of the proverb Forewarned is forearmed; which means Don't say hop until you jump, etc.
So, let's continue, Mouse Fuss, meaning?
Synonym: Mouse fuss: vanity of vanities, mouse running.
Since ancient times, there has been a rather negative attitude towards these small pests, due to their nature and harmful nature. And if mice have such a lifestyle thanks to their instincts, then people, unlike them, can easily change behavior patterns. Therefore, if an individual “starts up” in a team, who tries to pull the blanket over himself, weaves intrigues and “ lurking"colleagues, and without any tangible benefits from this, then this behavior was aptly dubbed - " mouse fuss"Such people exist in any human group, and in fact there is no escape from them, they fuss, gain little things for themselves, curry favor with their superiors, and generally behave extremely unpleasantly. According to research, it is women " ratting", and engage in mouse fuss; for men, such behavior is low and far from being held in high esteem.
In addition to intrigue and " hack"with each other at work, this term, as we mentioned above, also refers to minor chores. Do you remember such a phrase as “a squirrel in a wheel”? This rodent is put in a wheel, where it begins to run for a long time, senselessly, without seeing in front themselves as goals, and without trying to stop. In this case, these two phraseological units are quite close in meaning, since people do all these chores and small things out of habit, without seeing any particular benefit from them, and in general without imagining a goal to strive for.
From all of the above, we can conclude that this phrase is not suitable for encouragement, but rather an expression of disdain. In childhood, our children often do all sorts of nonsense, play games for months and even years, improving their " rate", "stats"and levels. This cannot in any way affect the real world, but they continue to engage in this mouse fuss. Some parents, seeing how senselessly and mercilessly their child is killing his time, cut off the Internet, forbid anyone to go near the computer, and drive their offspring out into the street for new experiences. Such callousness is simply necessary so that young people do not get hooked on " igloo" MMO games, and for many years became useless to society.
After reading this short but useful article, you learned what the phraseological unit means Rat race, and now you can explain its meaning to your acquaintances and friends.