To properly understand the meaning of one or anotherspeech circulation, present in the Russian language, often have to look into the distant past, delve into the historical annals. This also applies to the mysterious phraseologism "Kolomna versta." Fortunately, the history of Russia allows you to get an answer to the questions about what it means and where it came from.
"Kolomenskaya Verst": the origin of the idiom
So, how this expression became part of Russianlanguage? First of all, it is worthwhile to understand the meaning of each of the words that are present in the speech construction of “Kolomenskaya versta”. The history of the village of Kolomenskoye began many centuries ago, it was first mentioned in the annals during the reign of Moscow Prince Ivan Kalita, or rather in 1336. At various times, the village was owned by various metropolitan princes, then the kings took notice of it.
The village Kolomenskoye began to play an important role inaccession to the throne of Ivan the Terrible. It was he who first began to celebrate his birthday in the Kolomna Palace, where all the capital's nobility began to flock to the feasts. In 1610, the village became the headquarters of the infamous False Dmitry of the Second, but only for a short time. However, it reached its peak during the reign of Aleksei Mikhailovich, who loved to spend the summer months in it with his family and his entourage. Peter the Great lived most of his childhood in it, indulging in merry entertainment. Nowadays, the village plays the role of a museum-reserve, this status was assigned to it in the first half of the last century.
What is a milestone
Versta is another word that is integral.part of the expression "Kolomna versta". This is an old measure of length that was used on the territory of the Russian Empire before the metric system was introduced, which only happened in 1899. For reference verst has 1.006680 km.
The milestone at that time was not calledonly the aforementioned length of length, but also the pillars, which played the role of peculiar road signs, informing travelers about the miles they traveled, thanks to which they could not get lost and die. The roads on which such signs were placed were called pole. Traditionally milestones were painted in a slanting strip, this was done so that they attracted the attention of travelers. On the pole indicated the exact number of miles that remained to go to (or from) a particular settlement.
Emperor's Decree
So, where did the expression "Kolomnaverst"? This happened thanks to the autocrat Alexei Mikhailovich, nicknamed by his subjects Tishayshim. The king issued a decree, in which he ordered to erect special pillars along all the important Russian roads. The poles indicated the distance in versts. Subsequently, these structures were called versts or milestones. History claims that this innovation saved many residents of the Russian Empire from being killed in the snow.
What does the "Kolomna Verst" here?The fact is, the autocrat, taking care of his subjects, did not forget about his own convenience. At his disposal, the road, which allowed access to the village from the Kremlin, was decorated with special pillars. They had much greater height in comparison with those that were installed on “simple” roads, looked more impressive. Moreover, the decoration depicting the emblem of the country served as decoration for each pillar.
The meaning of phraseology
Surprisingly, the local people are "imperial"poles, endowed with impressive size, did not like. They constantly complained that it became difficult to use the road because of them. The road was immediately renamed “pillar”, and then the “Kolomna versta” speech appeared. Its value was very unexpected. After all, so began to call people of very tall. A new idiom quickly caught on in the Russian language.
So, what does the “Kolomna Verst” mean?Better understand this will help synonyms that are suitable for this speech circulation: bruiser, tower, lanky. In most cases, this stable construct is used in an ironic sense, whether it is written or spoken.
Examples of use
Idiom, the value of which is considered inThis article is often found in the literature. For example, we can recall the work "The Family of Zvonarevs", written by the author Alexander Stepanov. The heroine points out the hero who proposes to carry her out to the fact that all people will pay attention to such a “Kolomna mile” as he does, and she does not want to. It is understood that a man has a very tall, which allows him to stand out from the crowd, without making any effort for this.
You can refer to the famous historicalthe novel "Peter the First", which was created by the writer Alexei Nikolayevich Tolstoy. The hero of the work describes the growth of a teenage boy, saying that he had already managed to stretch out “from Kolomna mile” for the time before he saw him.
What else do you need to know
Obviously, the phraseologism “Kolomna Verst” has not only synonyms. Antonym, which is most suitable - shorty. You can also use other words - short, short.
It is necessary to take into account the fact that the order of arrangementwords in this case does not play a significant role. “Kolomna Verst” or “Kolomna Verst” - the meaning is the same, no matter what version the speaker uses.
