The stable expression "change an awl for soap" is often used in speech. However, the exact origin of this phraseological unit still remains mysterious even for humanitarians.
Value
According to the "Dictionary of Russian phraseological units", the combination "change the awl for soap" means "to make a useless short-sighted exchange." However, as studies show, this expression is often used in the meaning of "choosing the worst from the bad" or "making an exchange of unnecessary things for a more suitable one." Such semantic differences arise due to the specificity of the linguistic properties of phraseological units, because their meaning is not derived from the sum of the meanings of the components of the phrase.
Etymology
If we consider separately the lexical content of the words "change", "awl" and "soap", it will still remain unclear why these objects should be replaced and why these objects were selected to perform the action. At first glance, there is nothing in common between “awl” and “soap”, at least in the eyes of a modern person. Therefore, in order to understand the content of this phraseological unit, it is necessary to turn to its origin.
The most common etymological version says that the expression "change the awl for soap" came from the everyday life of shoemakers. In the old days, the metal tip of the tool was made of iron, and therefore quickly rusted, and it became very difficult for them to pierce stubborn skin. Therefore, he was rubbed with a piece of soap, which greatly facilitated the labor process.
Consequently, both items were necessary for the shoemaker and it was impractical to change one for the other. After all, it became impossible to work without an awl or without soap. This is where the sought-for lexical meaning of the modern phraseological unit follows.
Alternative versions
The emergence of other semantic variants is explained by the presence of an alternative version of the etymological meaning of the idiom, according to which it goes back to the dialect expression “change an awl for a pile”. Some scholars believe that the original form of phraseological unit was just that. A pile was once called a thick nail or thorn with a large head that was used for playing.
Therefore, the meaning of the phrase was somewhat different: the exchange of a thing necessary for work for a useless trinket. However, later, the word "svayka" went out of use and was replaced by "soap", possibly due to the emergence of the rhyme "awl-soap".
According to the third known version, "shilo" is an old slang name for alcohol. The fact is that doctors in the 19th century, when working with patients, disinfected their hands with alcohol. At the end of the 19th century, hand degreasing with soap was introduced - and alcohol was banned. Then the famous expression arose.
