Domestic linguists are unanimous in the interpretation of the etymology of this phraseological unit. Moreover, to clarify the historical meaning of this phrase, there is no need to delve into the semiotics of its constituent nouns.
How dictionaries explain it
The general unanimity of explanatory dictionaries of phraseological units boils down to the fact that the phrase "Not a feather, not a feather!" Is a wish of good luck in any business or undertaking (dictionaries by D. Ushakov (1939), A. Fedorov (2008), V. Mokienko and T. Nikitin (2007), E. Telia (2006).).
In these dictionaries, which extensively explain the meaning of this phraseological unit, numerous everyday situations are listed in which the phrase under study can be used. Modern scholars-linguists ("The Big Dictionary of Russian Sayings" by Mokienko and Nikitin) do not hesitate to enumerate playfully ironic variations of the meaning of this word form: "barracks (hostel) pillow", "cadet bed", "folding bed".
However, most dictionaries certainly say that the historical primary source of the phraseologism "not a feather or a feather" should be sought in the traditions of preparing the Proto-Slavs for hunting.
Neither one nor the other so as not to jinx
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One of the most famous Russian linguists Dmitry Nikolaevich Ushakov, in the explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, “not a feather, not a feather” is a wish of luck to the hunter, like a ritual “curse” - that he should return with the prey; direct praise in this case contributes to the "evil eye".
In the "Big Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Language" by E. N. Telia, the meaning of this phraseological unit also boils down to a general wish for good luck in something, however, often uttered in jest.
What's the hunt
Noteworthy is the version of the explanation of the origin of the word form "not a fluff, not a feather" of the Russian pre-revolutionary writer and folklorist AA Misurev. Alexander Alexandrovich collected working folklore in Siberia for many years. Misyurev put forward the hypothesis of an "internal struggle" with the past of the Siberian Christian, in which pagan superstitions are still alive.
Before the hunt, A. A. Misyurev believed, the hunter was careful not to mention Christian terms in vain: it was believed that this would anger the goblin and ultimately harm the hunt. Hence, the ritual “re-christening” “no fluff, no feather”, which was supposed to bring good luck.
This mystical spell that brings good luck, believes Olga Igorevna Severskaya, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Nuclear Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, really preceded a difficult test, some kind of responsible business that should not be jinxed. The traditional answer to the phraseology "To hell!" was a logical addition to this ritual verbal act. Olga Igorevna explains the etymology of the phraseology “not a feather, not a feather” by the desire of our ancestors before the hunt to “fool” the owner of the forest, assuring him that the fisherman “does not need anything” in his domain. OI Severskaya gives numerous examples from Russian fiction, where hunters and fishermen thus set themselves up for good luck.
A colleague of Severskaya, also a candidate of philological sciences, MM Voznesenskaya, adheres to a similar version. Maria Markovna refers "not a feather, not a feather" to "hunting" phraseological units (in total, according to estimates of M. M. Voznesenskaya, in domestic phraseological dictionaries there are more than thirty such word forms - "after two hares", "sit down (lie down) on the tail", " it runs to the hunter and the beast”, etc.).
In her wish “no feathers, no feathers,” Voznesenskaya draws attention to the metonymy of the tropes “down” (fur animal) and “feather” (“bird”). That is, they wanted the hunter not to catch either the beast or the birds - from the opposite, in order to deceive the devil and not "jinx" the future hunt. As an example of the use of common phraseological units, Maria Markovna cites Vasily Aksenov's story “My grandfather is a monument”, where one of the heroines wishes “no fluff or feather” to another hero, and her counterpart “out of hunting habit” answers: “To hell.”
Nikolay Syromyatnikov
