Our life is hard, and caution is by no meansis something odd now in the stone jungle. But sometimes the question arises about how best to admonish someone, while teaching him some lesson. It seems to us that the phrase “keep the powder dry” is quite suitable for these purposes. As you might guess, the focus of our attention is the meaning of the phraseologism “to keep the powder dry”, its meaning and history.
Origin
There was such a historical figure - Oliver Cromwell. His fame is enormous, but now we are not interested in her, but in the fact that Cromwell is the author of the popular expression we are considering.
Once upon a time, when the times in the world were even morerestless than now, in prim England there were unrest. If the reader wants an exact date and description of events, then the court was the 17th century, and the unrest was called the English bourgeois revolution. Yes, surprisingly, but the meaning of the phraseologism “to keep the powder dry” has deep historical roots.
It is known for sure that in the situation of the appearance of a winged expression three actors took part: the river, the army of Cromwell and the main character himself. The rest of the details vary.
When his army was crossing the river, he advised his soldiers, as a deeply religious man, to hope in God, but at the same time keep the powder dry.
Now the reader knows the story of the appearance of the expression. It is time to highlight the meaning of the phraseologism "to keep the powder dry."
Meaning
We think that the interpretation of this speech will not cause any difficulties. As can be understood from the context, he directly advises not to relax ever and under any circumstances, always be alert.
And the advice that is “embedded” inIdiom, universal and suitable for both wartime and peacetime. A person, in one way or another, struggles for life even when in fact he does not fight directly with anyone.
Schoolchildren, students, workers and even millionaires may wish to keep their powder dry, because anything can happen in life.
Here is the many-sided and inexhaustible meaning of the phraseologism “to keep the powder dry”.
Synonyms
Do not think that the British gave us something unique, and in Russian culture there is no analogue to the expression of Oliver Cromwell. He will certainly be found, for example: "Trust in God, but do not commit it yourself."
Even an inexperienced reader will see in the last phrase an involuntary roll call with a diamond of the thought of a British commander, and for good reason, because the meaning is almost the same.
Synonymous with sustainablephrases should recognize another Latin wisdom: "If you want peace - prepare for war." And our language can also offer another analogue of the expression: “Prepare for the worst, and God will send the best.”
We have considered the expression “keep the powderdry ”: the meaning of a phraseological unit, a synonym for expression and its history — all of this was revealed to the reader in all its glory. Analogues of sustainable phrases were also proposed a few.
Morality
In this case, it is not difficult to understand:a stable phrase insists that a person never let down his guard and, no matter how well the circumstances evolve, never cease to bear personal responsibility for what is happening to him.
Amazingly, the language keeps a lotinformative and interesting. Somewhere in one phrase is a great historical event or a great historical figure, somewhere in one small phrase you can extract a whole philosophy, a separate life program. And sometimes, as in our case, both at the same time.
