On the Russian Expression SESTʹ V LUZHU: Semantic and Stylistic Peculiarities

Abstract

The Russian expression сесть в лужу (literally, to sit into a puddle) stands apart from similar expressions with the same image in other languages, both semantically and stylistically. Whereas the expressions to find oneself in the mire, in der Patsche sitzen, etc. mean ‘to get into a difficult situation’ or ‘get tangled,’ the saying сесть в лужу means ‘to get into an awkward or funny situation, to fail because of being unable to live up to one’s expectations, to shame oneself.’ Perhaps, here the verb to sit, which in most cases implies a sitting position, changed the meaning of the expression, and it approached the offensive colloquial наложить в штаны ‘to crap one’s pants,’ which has the literal sense ‘to shit or wet oneself from fear,’ and the figural sense ‘to shame oneself through unredeemed promises.’ The expression сесть в лужу in current usage describes a person who is so scared that he has wet or soiled his pants. Judging by the fact that this expression cannot be found in Dahl’s dictionary and that it appeared in Russian literature at the beginning of the 20th century, it is obvious that before that time, it had been considered vulgar, substandard and unprintable. Nowadays, the expression is widespread, and though its origin has been forgotten, it has not become stylistically neutral: in dictionaries it is tagged as colloquial, informal, pejorative, ironic, and humorous.