"This version is just a beautiful legend. The cutting off of body parts, including the nose, from people who broke the law, was carried out by the judicial authorities not only of “civilized” Byzantium, but also of Spain, China and even Russia. Although you need to understand that such a measure of physical the impact is unnecessarily cruel.
In different countries there are analogues of the saying “Curious Varvara’s nose was torn off at the market” Italian proverb
- “the jug goes for lard” - “tanto va la gatta al lardo” French proverb
- “curiosity is not a good character trait” - “la curiosite est un vilain defaut” Spanish proverb
- “the fish dies because of the mouth” - “por la boca muere el pez” English proverb
- “curiosity killed the cat” - “curiosity killed the cat”
Synonyms of the phraseological unit "Curious Varvara..."Znayka is being taken to court, but Dunno is at home, sitting;
Don't poke your nose into someone else's millet;
The less you know the better you sleep;
What they don’t talk about, don’t inquire about it;
If you know a lot, you will soon grow old;
Be less curious and do more;
When you grow up like your mother, you will know everything;
Curiosity is not a vice, but a great disgusting thing;
There is a fight in the hut - people are at the gate;
Don't poke your nose into other people's business.
Poem Curious Varvara (excerpt)
"Curious Barabara
Came to the market
And she stuck her nose into everything:
In boots, in sour cream, in lard,
In honey, in mustard, in turpentine...
- What did you buy? How did you sell it?
- Where was the samovar stolen?
- How much steam is in the samovar?
- What is the hole in the guitar for?
- What was found on the sidewalk -
Three kopecks or five...
Threatened at the market
<...>
Tear off Varvara's nose."
(A. Usachev)
Andrey A. Usachev Born in the capital Soviet UnionHis adolescence and youth flew by unnoticed for him. After school, like all intelligent young men, I decided to enter MIET (Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology). He studied at this faculty for four long years, when he realized that this path was not for him, he changed it to the philological faculty of Tver State University.
In his working career, he did not disdain any hard work. He was a watchman, a janitor, worked for some time as a drummer, became a dishwasher, worked in the summer as a beach cleaner, worked as a stage driver at the Satire Theater, and did not shy away from intelligent work as the editor of the magazine “Funny Pictures.”
He wrote for a long time, but as they say, everything went to the table. His first poems were published in 1985.
Five years later, he submitted his book of poems, If You Throw a Stone Up, to a competition for young writers for children, where it unexpectedly won first prize.
Since 1991 he has become a Member of the Writers' Union. In total, more than a hundred children's books by A. Usachev were published in our country. However, he also gained considerable popularity abroad. Two of his books were published in Ukraine, two books in Hebrew were also published in Israel, Moldova also decided to please its children with the publication of two of his works. In addition, it was published in Japan, Serbia and Poland.
The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation recommended five of his books as teaching aids for study at school.
Everyone knows that rumors and gossip are bad. But the temptation is too great; you always want to peek at how others’ lives are going, if your own does not sparkle with emotions. But it’s not for nothing that there is a proverb: “the curious Varvara’s nose was torn off at the market,” it says that interest in other people’s affairs is fraught with danger.
Meaning
The meaning of the expression is not difficult to interpret: if a person meddles in other people’s affairs, he may greatly regret it. Moreover, in in this case interest in the lives of stars does not count, because it is a kind of style modern life. Those who are not involved or involved in any scandals are trying hard to fan the dying flame of mass attention. When creativity is in crisis, you need to somehow stay afloat. Let's not judge Western and our television divas and icons strictly.
Here the saying “curious Varvara’s nose was torn off at the market” does not work; we need a situation where the spying, eavesdropping person found himself in an unpleasant situation, precisely because he was trying to get into someone else’s life.
The story of how Marty McFly's parents met
Fans know that this episode is key to the first part of the Back to the Future trilogy. Grandfather Marty hits his father, who somehow ended up in the middle of the road during the day, mom takes care of dad, obeying the Florence Nightingale effect, falls in love with him, although he is nothing outstanding. Ah, if we only loved worthy people, what kind of life would come! However, we digress. So, when Marty went back in time, he found out: his father was spying on his mother. To be on the same level as the windows of the house, he had to climb a tree. George McFly was holding on with difficulty, and as a result of an awkward movement he slipped, and then the car of his future father-in-law arrived.
Whatever one may say, the illustration for the common expression “curious Varvara’s nose was torn off at the market” is excellent. Yes, this once again speaks, of course, that the ways of the Lord are inscrutable: I got hit by a car, and in the end I won the jackpot - Lorraine is nice, beautiful girl, who, if not for the accident, would never have become interested in George - the subject of bullying throughout the school at that point in time. But even despite all the bonuses and advantages that fell to Marty’s father, it is worth saying that he could have been shot down and killed.
Curiosity and inquisitiveness
The words are similar, but very different in essence. Dictionary defines the first quality as “petty interest in all sorts of details, even small ones.” It seems that even the dictionary is disgusted by the word, but, of course, this is not so. Curiosity also has a second meaning: “The desire to learn, to see something new, to show interest in something.”
The noun curiosity in the dictionary is defined by its connection with the adjective “inquisitive.” An authoritative source records the following interpretation: “Prone to acquiring new knowledge.” Moreover, it is not difficult to grasp the peculiarity: a curious person (no matter what the first or second meaning) is looking for information for fun, he does not have a specific purpose for using it. And for an inquisitive person, information is knowledge, that is, he knows exactly why he needs what he is interested in. True, this is not necessarily some kind of material goal; perhaps he is studying something for general development.
Romanticism and pragmatism
But the hero of the saying “curious Varvara’s nose was torn off at the market” can be presented in a different light. We already have too many people who are only interested in what is needed for business, and the rest does not affect them, because it does not bring money, why waste time? Thus, curiosity changes the pole from negative to positive, and curiosity vice versa. Although, of course, such a message replaces concepts. After all, even if we imagine that a person studies philosophy, art or higher mathematics for the sake of one’s own pleasure, then this is still not curiosity, but inquisitiveness, because such information inside still contains knowledge that changes a person, but greasy details from the life of stars are unlikely to add anything to one’s personality. Of course, I would like to present a curious romantic, but in the end it turns out to be vulgarity. A romantic can only be inquisitive.
You, of course, have heard the saying: “The curious Varvara’s nose was torn off at the market.” Do you think this is a hoax? But no! They tore off Varvara’s nose. Just not at the market, but somewhere else. It happened on an island that lies in the middle of a large river. There were bad rumors about this island: that from time to time the living dead, devils, witches and other evil spirits gather there at night.
No one saw them with their own eyes, and did not know what they were doing there, but many heard moans, squeals, screams and terrible laughter rushing from the island. And something was shining there. Many would like to know what was going on on the island, but were afraid to go there. Even during the day, rare daredevils decided to swim to the island, but they were afraid to go ashore - you never know. And no one could even think about going there at night.
Varvara was also not known for her courage. But she was overflowing with curiosity. Oh, over the edge! And how could she not be curious, if her exorbitantly long and sharp nose fit into any crack, squeezed into the smallest hole. Varvara knew everything about everyone: who, with whom, where and when. Not only did she know, but she spread it all over the village. And if only she had told the truth. No! Truth is a spoon, and fiction is a ladle. For this they did not like Varvara, they called her a liar, but they willingly listened - she lied very well.
Varvara knew everything that happened in her native village and the surrounding area. And only the island remained a mystery to her. And this mystery haunted her. It seemed to her that her life would be lived in vain if she did not see with her own eyes what was happening on the island at night, who was moaning and laughing there. Varvara was completely exhausted by curiosity, and... one fine day she made up her mind.
As soon as the fire was lit on the island and screams were heard, Varvara went ashore, got into the boat and set sail. Slowly she swam, looking back, with fear and trembling in her heart. She quietly approached the island, went ashore and, stealthily, walked towards the light and voices. Soon she saw a clearing illuminated by spotlights, where something was happening. Varvara hid behind a wide tree trunk and began to watch.
There was a pillar in the middle of the clearing, and a girl of extraordinary beauty was tied to the pillar. The girl moaned and struggled, trying to break free from her bonds, but in vain. At the same time, at the edge of the clearing, not far from Varvara, a two-legged monster, huge, shaggy and with claws, was spinning and dancing. His bulging eyes were bloodshot and rotated alternately in one direction and then in the other. Varvara trembled with fear and pressed herself into a tree. Slowly rearranging its huge legs, the monster moved towards the girl. The poor thing screamed wildly. Varvara could not resist and also screamed. The monster stopped, looked back in Varvara’s direction, but seeing nothing, only let out a roar and released a cloud of fetid smoke from its mouth. Varvara almost coughed from this stench.
The monster moved towards the beauty again, and his huge mouth grinned angrily. The girl continued to scream and fight, and the furry monster, growling and chattering its teeth, was getting closer and closer to her. It puffed out stinking smoke at the girl and extended its huge arms towards her. A little more and the monster will grab the poor thing. But then a young man ran out into the clearing.
- Anya!!! - he shouted when he saw the girl.
- Vania!!! – the beauty shouted in response.
The monster turned to the uninvited guest and growled angrily.
- Run, Vanya, run!! Leave me alone! - the beauty begged. - He will kill you!
But Vanya pulled out his sword and boldly rushed at the monster. A long, fierce struggle ensued between them, with wild screams and howls. Varvara bit all her lips, scratched all her hands, rooting for Vanya. In the end, the young man defeated the monster and freed the beautiful girl. They hugged, and tears of joy flowed from Varvara’s eyes.
Suddenly, the girl, the boy, and the defeated monster disappeared in an instant, as if they had dissolved into thin air. Only then did Varvara notice several people in black robes and black hats with tassels. They sat at the end of the clearing farthest from Varvara on high stumps. On everyone's chest was the inscription: JURY. The men in black were throwing cones into a bowl that stood on the table in front of them. One of the JURY counted the cones in the bowl and loudly announced:
- Author number eleven gets sixty-eight big bucks!
And after a pause:
- Author number twelve is invited to the clearing.
A pretty woman came out and started her fairy tale:
- Once upon a time there was a king. And he had a daughter.
Immediately a king in luxurious robes with a crown on his head and a young princess appeared in the clearing. And the action began to spin. At the end of the tale, the JURY again threw the cones into the bowl and after the result was announced, the next author came out.
Even before Varvara noticed the banner with the inscription: “FAIRY TALE COMPETITION,” she guessed what was happening here. I figured it out and stopped being afraid. On the fifth or sixth tale, in order to better see the action, she came out from behind the tree and stood at the very edge of the clearing. But in vain! The hero of the fairy tale, a brave fellow, came to get even with Baba Yaga. Seeing long-nosed Varvara, he mistook her for Baba Yaga, ran up to her, grabbed her nose, tore it off and threw it far, far away, straight into the river - only poor Varvara heard the splash of water. Her nose sank to the bottom of the river. Varvara screamed wildly:
- What did you do, you damned one!
And the fellow answered in a whisper:
“You’re not behaving according to the plot, Baba Yaga.”
- What kind of Baba Yaga am I to you!! – Varvara got angry.
And then the young man heard wild laughter. He turned around and saw another Baba Yaga. The good fellow was confused and didn’t know what to do next.
- This is a setup! - the author shouted. - I don’t have two Baba Yags!
The JURY jumped off their stumps, approached the laughing Baba Yaga, and asked:
- Who are you?
- I am Baba Yaga.
- And who are you? - they asked Varvara.
- I am Varvara.
-Where did you come from?
- I live in a village, I came here by boat to see what you are doing here.
- We have a viewer! – the JURY rejoiced.
- So why are you mocking the audience, Herods!! - Varvara screamed.
She took her hand away from her face, and everyone saw two holes where her nose should have been. The weak half of the JURY fainted, and one of the remaining, the smartest, shouted:
- Authors!! Which one of you has a doctor in a fairy tale?
- I have! - someone responded.
- Start your own fairy tale quickly. Yes, right from the place where the doctor appears.
Instantly, a doctor appeared out of thin air in a clearing with a medical case in his hand. They pushed the sobbing Varvara towards him.
“And so the doctor gave the woman a new nose, more beautiful than the old one,” the author proclaimed, adjusting the plot as he went.
The doctor took out instruments, jars, and bottles from his bag and began to cast a spell on Varvara. Having finished his work, he handed her the mirror. A beauty with a small graceful nose looked at Varvara from the mirror.
- Ah! – that’s all she said.
For this tale, the author received the maximum number of cones.
Varvara returned from the island a completely different person. Nobody recognized her. And not only because Plastic surgery made her a beauty - Varvara herself changed. She no longer sticks her nose into other people's affairs and spreads gossip about neighbors throughout the village. She has no time to do this. She now has another hobby, much more interesting - Varvara writes fairy tales. What a job, what a job! There is room to turn around and have fun with tall tales. Take a person, an animal, an inanimate object and send them wherever your imagination leads. Now no one calls Varvara a liar. On the contrary, Varvara is a respected person in the village, a storyteller, and both children and adults listen to her tales. When the lights come on on the island, the whole village gets into boats and sails to a fairy tale competition: to see others and cheer for their own Varvara.
When we, as children, spied on various interesting things that were not intended for a child’s eyes, our parents would catch us with the words: “Curious Varvara’s nose was torn off at the market.” And we understood what this meant, intuitively or consciously. In our article we will understand the meaning of this saying and whether it is good or bad to be curious.
Meaning
Imagine, a woman walks around the market, looks here, looks here, but she still has no money. And in one of the crowds she lost a very important part of her body. This is an unpleasant story for her: the curious Varvara’s nose was torn off at the market.
The saying condemns excessive, senseless curiosity.
Curiosity and curiosity
In serious psychology textbooks you will not find a distinction between curiosity and curiosity, but nevertheless it is very interesting.
Curiosity is a thirst for information that a person satisfies without any benefit to himself. For example, all people (both men and women, the former even more than the latter) love gossip. This is an example of pure, unadulterated curiosity, because how to use the information that Paris Hilton has a new lover, or that Ronaldinho's boots are made using pure gold, is completely unclear. Someone will ask: “Why know this? And in general: the curious Varvara’s nose was torn off at the market.” In some ways Mr. Anonymous is right, but in others he is wrong. Let's move on.
Another thing is the cases of Freud, Jung or books on science and philosophy. We will not be very modest and say that this article is also intended for the curious. It is still useful to know the language you speak or read. A curious person does not look for information for its own sake, he has a goal. And the saying “the curious Varvara’s nose was torn off at the market” defames those who do not have such a goal.
True, in this sense, like almost everything in the world, knowledge is relative. Information about Paris Hilton's lover may be useful to a scandalous journalist who is writing a fresh article on a hot topic. Ronaldinho's boots, or rather information about them, can serve a sports commentator or journalist who seeks to entertain the reader or listener.
Even the most meaningless, seemingly, thing - gossip, can be an object of both inquisitiveness and curiosity. For example, you hear at work that a man is dating a woman. At first you think it's just curiosity, but then it turns out that you can use this information to advance your career. Of course, this example teaches bad things, but we are talking here outside of moral categories. It is important for us to understand the difference between curiosity and inquisitiveness. We think everything is clear on this issue.
Gossip
Duty dictates, after the immoral previous section, to say that using gossip against your colleagues or subordinates is very bad and low. Try not to turn to “black” technologies even for the sake of a career. In general, you need to ignore various rumors, otherwise you can lose your nose, like the heroine of the proverb in question (“curious Varvara’s nose was torn off at the market”).