Phraseological dictionary of the Russian language: what is mouse fuss, what does it mean and how to spell it correctly. “Mouse fuss”: the meaning of phraseology, tonality of expression and examples of use Mouse fuss meaning

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 for broke (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 I managed 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 minor troubles, everyday “squeaking”, as well as with the petty intrigues of those around us. 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”)

What is "MOUSE RACE"? How to spell this word correctly. Concept and interpretation.

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. This means that the actions and deeds performed (P) are assessed by the speaker as unclean and unseemly or as vain, petty troubles. Spoken with disapproval. speech standard. ? R - mouse fuss. Units only h. In the role of subject, additional, obv. The order of the component words is fixed. They were creative people, but they could easily provide their house outside the city for various meetings and for storing such materials if a mouse fuss began between journalists and counterintelligence officers. A. Marinina, Requiem. - You see, Vyacheslav Nikolaevich, there is a real mouse fuss going on around the prizes. Previously, first place was only first place and did not give anything but glory and honor. And now prizes are given to contestants in thick envelopes stuffed with hard currency. A. Marinina, Black List. Sofya Petrovna Preobrazhenskaya was always far from petty theatrical affairs; any theatrical mouse fuss was alien to her. B. Khaikin, S.P. Preobrazhenskaya. Finally, the years of the world war with the rear embezzlement of everything, even medicines, the stupid mouse fuss of various, in essence, not so much employees as the leaders of the zemstvo union fed from the front... K. Simonov, Sofya Leonidovna. Something could have been done to keep Vichka’s father’s apartment, but Vichka waved her hand. I didn't want any mouse fuss. They had to tinker with it later. T. Nabatnikova, Every Hunter. They replaced government activity itself with mouse fuss with meetings, decisions (never or almost never implemented), resolutions, these same country houses, clinics, canteens, sausages and everything, everything, everything. Chimes, 1995. Businessmen, crooks... are conducting a mouse fuss around the oil fields: they are fencing off and blocking off areas..., selling and reselling pieces of land. V. Vetlina, Living Blood of the Earth. It's not very easy for her there. There is a lot of dirt at the institute. She does not participate in their mouse fuss, and this is offensive to others, so they persecute her on the sly. I. Gerasimov, Night trams. cultural commentary: Image of phraseology. correlates with the zoomorphic code of culture, i.e., with a set of culturally determined stereotypical ideas about the properties, characteristics or behavioral characteristics of animals, which act as a source of human understanding of the world. In this case, the figurative content of phraseols. is based on observation of the behavior of an animal that has long been familiar to traditional culture - the mouse and reflects a stereotypical idea of ​​it as a nimble, agile creature that can penetrate into a home even through small cracks, imperceptibly spoils food, leaving behind dirt (crumbs, small pieces of food ), causes damage to things, fussily scratches, rustles, “fidgets.” phraseol. contains a zoomorphic metaphor in which the unscrupulous actions of a person are likened to the behavior of a mouse. Image of phraseology. also correlates with the spiritual code of culture, that is, with a set of moral attitudes and ideas in which the secret weaving of petty intrigues and unscrupulous competition are assessed negatively. phraseol. generally associated with the stereotypical idea of ​​unseemly deeds and petty, vain troubles caused by the potential for personal gain.

How can one determine the activities of people who weave endless intrigues, but which, 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.

What

Petty intrigues, unworthy deeds.

Implied a group of people participating in situations related to the division of property, the distribution of spheres of influence, and the acquisition of a new social status and under., often for personal gain. What is meant is that actions and deeds performed ( R) are assessed by the speaker as unclean and unseemly or as vain, petty troubles. Spoken to disapproval. speech standard. ✦ R - rat race . Only units h. In the role subject, add., obst. Order of component words fixed

They were creative people, but they could well have provided their house outside the city for various meetings and for storing such materials if a dispute began between journalists and counterintelligence officers. rat race. A. Marinina, Requiem.- You see, Vyacheslav Nikolaevich, there is a real rat race. Previously, first place was only first place and did not give anything but glory and honor. And now prizes are given to contestants in thick envelopes stuffed with hard currency. A. Marinina, Black List.

Sofya Petrovna Preobrazhenskaya was always far from small theatrical affairs, any theatrical rat race was alien to her. B. Khaikin, S.P. Preobrazhenskaya.

Finally, the years of the world war with the rear embezzlement of everything, even medicines, stupid mouse fuss different, in essence, not so much employees as leaders of the zemstvo union who feed from the front... K. Simonov, Sofya Leonidovna.

Something could have been done to keep Vichka’s father’s apartment, but Vichka waved her hand. She did not want " mouse fuss"They had to tinker with it later. T. Nabatnikova, Every Hunter.

They replaced government activity itself mouse fuss with meetings, decisions (never or almost never implemented), resolutions, these same country houses, clinics, canteens, sausages and everything, everything, everything. Chimes, 1995.

Dealers, crooks... lead around the oil fields mouse fuss: they fence off and partition off plots..., sell and resell pieces of land. V. Vetlina, Living Blood of the Earth.

It's not very easy for her there. There is a lot of dirt at the institute. She's in them mouse fuss doesn’t participate, and this is offensive to others, so they persecute her on the sly. I. Gerasimov, Night trams.

cultural commentary: Image phraseol. correlates with the zoomorphic code of culture, i.e. with a set of culturally determined stereotypical ideas about the properties, characteristics or behavioral characteristics of animals, which act as a source of human understanding of the world. In this case, figurative content phraseol. based on observation of the behavior of an animal that has long been familiar to traditional culture - mice and reflects a stereotypical idea of ​​it as a nimble, agile creature that can penetrate into a home even through small cracks, imperceptibly spoils food, leaving behind dirt (crumbs, small pieces of food), damages things, fussily scrapes, rustles, " fiddling around". phraseol. contains a zoomorphic metaphor in which the unscrupulous actions of a person are likened to the behavior of a mouse. Image phraseol. also correlates with the spiritual code of culture, i.e. with a set of moral attitudes and ideas in which the secret weaving of petty intrigues and unscrupulous competition are assessed negatively. phraseol. generally associated with the stereotypical idea of ​​unseemly deeds and petty, vain troubles caused by the potential for personal gain. I. V. Zakharenko

• - see Tularemia...

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• - a unit of measurement of the biological activity of estrogen, representing the smallest amount of the hormone that causes estrus in mature castrated female mice...

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  Spelling dictionary of the Russian language

• - ́, -i, female 1. Erratic, noisy movements. The children made a fuss. 2. with whom. An occupation that brings a lot of trouble and painstaking work. A lot of fuss with the garden. 3. transfer Secretive activities, intrigue...

  Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

• - ́, fuss, pl. no, female . 1. Noisy, erratic movements. The children made a fuss. Stop fussing. 2. with someone or something. A painstaking, slow task, work, trouble. Fussing with installing devices...

  Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

• - fuss I f. decomposition 1. Excessive fuss around something. 2. Intrigues, squabbles. II decomposition 1. process of action according to Ch. tinker III 2. The result of such action; erratic movement. III decomposition 1...

  Explanatory Dictionary by Efremova

• - fuss "I, -"...

  Russian spelling dictionary

• - Express. Petty chores, activities, worries. Proud will and independence are not afraid of anyone and openly follow their chosen path, despising lies and mouse running...
• - Razg. Express Petty, empty worries, worries...

  Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language

• - Mouse fuss. Razg. Iron. Petty chores, worries, activities. FSRY, 75, 463; BTS, 567; ZS 1996, 230...
• - Razg. Iron. Petty chores, worries, activities. FSRY, 75, 463; BTS, 567; ZS 1996, 230...

  Large dictionary of Russian sayings

• - ...

  Word forms

• - Cm....

  Synonym dictionary

• - noun, number of synonyms: 7 life mouse running mouse fuss mouse fuss mouse bustle vanity vanity vanity troubles...

  Synonym dictionary

• - mouse scurrying, mouse scurrying, mouse scurrying, vanity, mouse scurrying life, scurrying...

  Synonym dictionary

"MOUSE RACE" in books

Chapter 22. “Mouse Fuss” and the Middle Eastern “Cold Shower”

From the book Tanks and People. Diary of the chief designer author Morozov Alexander Alexandrovich

Chapter 22. “Mouse fuss” and the Middle Eastern “cold shower” 01/2/73. Meeting with Soich. Present: the management of departments 60, 63 and workshop 190. Shukhov reported on the progress of work on the execution of the order of the director of the plant No. 29 dated December 15, 1972 “On the production of 9AM machines.” 01/3/73. On 01/09. me and Golinets

Mouse family

From the book Original decorations from vegetables and fruits author Nesterova Daria Vladimirovna

Moiseturm. Mouse War

From the book Cologne and the Castles of the Rhine author Gritsak Elena

Moiseturm. War of the Mouse The choppy waters of the Rhine near Ehrenfels are a very difficult place to navigate. If navigational instruments help today's ships navigate underwater rocks, in the old days the lighthouse on the small Binger Island served the same purpose. Before you become

Chicken romp

From the book War and Anti-War by Toffler Alvin

Chicken fuss Before the Gulf War, the IAEA used only 42 inspector stations to inspect about a thousand declared nuclear power plants around the world. And in the USA, 7,200 inspectors were used to search for salmonella and psittacosis in meat and poultry - 171 each

Fiddling around the power switch

From the book Everything is under control: Who is watching you and how author Garfinkel Simeon

Fussing around the power switch Video surveillance enthusiasts like Brin and Mann believed that as time went on there would be more and more video cameras. And in a world filled with video cameras, they argued, we have only two options: either the cameras are completely under

Eagle's Nest and Mouse Fuss

From the book I See Right Through You! [The art of understanding people. The most effective secret agent techniques] by Martin Leo

Eagle's nest and mouse fuss Day four - day nine, from Friday to Wednesday, October 1-6 As if from a nest on a high rock, we, like an eagle, watched everything that happened at Bulent. There was always an incomprehensible mouse fuss going on in the Sarai office, it was a real walk-through

03/13/2003 - “Mouse Fuss”

From the book Window to Nature 2003 author Peskov Vasily Mikhailovich

03/13/2003 - “Mouse fuss” The words “mouse fuss” have become a proverb and mean petty, annoying fuss, often meaningless. And what does this fuss between mice mean: they are playing, sharing something, quarreling? There was no answer to this question. Having well studied the behavior of large animals - elephants,

Eternity and mouse fuss

From the book Notes of a Reporter author Svinarenko Igor Nikolaevich

Eternity and mouse fuss November 8, 2007, 19:53 Here, I flew in from Odessa. You are certainly familiar with all the local exotics like Duke, Ekaterina and Benny Krik, and I won’t bore you with it. Although we can briefly dwell on the story of the monument to Catherine the Second. Monument to her, placed in

Fuss around Stalin

From the book Long Live Stagnation! author Burovsky Andrey Mikhailovich

Fuss around Stalin During Stalin's reign, he was considered Lenin's direct successor and "Lenin today." During the reign of Khrushchev, Stalin turned into a kind of fiend who ruined everything with his “cult of personality.” During Brezhnev's reign, controversy surrounding personality

Fuss in the Tsumadinsky district

From the book Dagestan Dossier author Ovcharov Vitaly

Fuss in the Tsumadinsky district...And at this time, while I was flying, some kind of fuss had already begun in the Tsumadinsky district. The Minister of Internal Affairs of Dagestan, when he met me at the airport, immediately reported: “We have a very difficult situation, I transferred 700 people to Botlikh and Tsumadinsky

Roman Shebalin MOUSE RAINBOW (something about the physiology of Moscow)

From the book Newspaper Day of Literature # 60 (2001 9) author Literature Day Newspaper

Roman Shebalin MOUSE RAINBOW (something about the physiology of Moscow) There are no people. There are none. That is - not this way, not that way, not like that - it’s somewhere out there, but here they are; in principle no, in general, specifically - they are not in Moscow. We are not. Oh, of course! - You will cry out and, not making out the way,

0 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 gop until you jump over, 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 their 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 troubles and small things out of habit, without seeing any particular benefit from them, and in general without imagining the goal to which they need to strive.

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.