What is the meaning of the expression for the Hamburg account. "Hamburg account" in literary criticism

The expression "Hamburg account", or "according to Hamburg account”, linguists refer to the category of such phraseological units, the meaning of which is not equal to the sum of the meanings of words. In other words, knowing what is "Hamburg" and what is "account" will not shed light on the meaning of this phrase.

Intuitive understanding of an expression based on context

However, the expression "Hamburg account", or "according to the Hamburg account", is usually intuitive from the context and is often equated with the phraseological unit "by and large". In general, this is true, but only an intuitive understanding of a phraseological unit usually does not make it possible to freely use it in one's own speech, since the boundaries of the meaning are not entirely clear, and secondly, there is always a doubt about whether it is understood correctly and what it has relation to the city of Hamburg.

To understand the nuances of the meaning and the specifics of the use of this expression will help to know what the “Hamburg account” is, as well as what is the history of the origin of the phraseological unit.

Viktor Shklovsky on the etymology of the expression "Hamburg account"

The origin of phraseology is closely connected with the name of the famous literary critic and critic Viktor Shklovsky. It is his book that is called "The Hamburg Account". The meaning of the phraseological unit becomes clear after getting acquainted with the parable told by Shklovsky and explaining the title of the book.

The parable says that professional wrestlers never fight honestly, their task is to perform on order. They must lose (lie down on their shoulder blades) when the entrepreneur tells them. This scam is for making money. However, every year in one of the taverns in Hamburg, wrestlers gather for a fair fight. Their struggle takes place without spectators, from whom the struggle itself is hidden, and how long, unaesthetic and difficult it really is for the wrestlers. At this unspectacular event, it turns out which of the wrestlers is stronger and which is weaker.

This is done in order to find out the real value of each wrestler, no matter what place he occupies in the open arena.

"Hamburg account" in literature

It is this struggle, hidden from everyone, in which official titles and titles are not important, that Shklovsky calls the “Hamburg account”. important in relation to literature, or rather, to what place a particular writer occupies in the literary arena. What the phraseological unit “Hamburg account” means for Viktor Shklovsky becomes clear from the use of the expression “according to the Hamburg account” in the text of his short article. “According to the Hamburg account, there are no Se-rafi-movie-cha and Ve-res-ev. They don’t reach the city, ”the author writes and then continues his allegory, saying that in Hamburg, that is, at hidden competitions where the true strength of a wrestler is revealed, Bulgakov would have ended up at the carpet, Isaac Babel would act as a lightweight wrestler, the strength of Maxim Gorky would be doubtful, since this “athlete” is not always in shape, but Velimir Khlebnikov would be a champion.

One of the areas of use of the expression "Hamburg account" is economic. The etymology and meaning of the phraseological unit are such that it can be used in the sense that they are built on honest, open principles, when all parties to the contract are equal both formally and in essence.

"Hamburg account" in literary criticism

As can be seen from the retelling of a short article by Shklovsky, in literature, as in sports, the Hamburg account is important. The meaning of phraseologism in the context of literary criticism lies in the fact that in literature, as in wrestling, any figure can be evaluated according to two systems. For the first, the official "alignment" of forces is important, and for the second, the real one. In the first case, formal indicators of the success of the author and the work are important in literature, and in the second case, his real scale of talent.

Of course, in literature, it is much more difficult to find out which of the writers “does not reach the city” and who is the champion is much more difficult than in sports. Ultimately, according to the Hamburg account, only time can evaluate a writer and a work, but what is meant is that when evaluating a literary phenomenon, it is important not to follow momentary criteria, but to look at it as if it existed outside of time.

"Hamburg account" in various fields of culture and art

Since the time of Shklovsky (and his book was written in 1928), in many areas of culture it has become familiar expression"Hamburg account". The meaning of phraseologism has expanded. Most often, the assessment "according to the Hamburg account" means the assessment cultural phenomenon or a cultural figure, regardless of any opinions, official recognitions, awards, awards, popularity and notoriety.

So, a scientist, by coincidence, may not have a high scientific rank - not be an academician or even a professor, but just an associate professor, not hold leadership positions, not to participate in official events, but “according to the Hamburg score”, that is, in reality, to be an interesting scientist whose thoughts, works and achievements are really important for science.

This approach to evaluation is possible not only in relation to a person, but also, for example, to a book. One book can be published by the largest publishing house with a circulation of ten thousand copies, widely known to readers, have a lot of fans, it can be made into a TV series, but according to the Hamburg account, this is just a commercial project or a temporary, momentary phenomenon. Another book may be published by a small provincial publishing house with a circulation of five hundred copies and known only to a small circle of readers, receive negative reviews from critics, but according to the Hamburg score, this may turn out to be a really talented work.

The allegorical meaning of the expression "Hamburg account"

However, this is not all possible meanings of the expression "Hamburg account". The meaning of phraseologism in modern language even wider. It is used when they want to say about the real, honest price of something, about true position of things. You can judge, evaluate by the Hamburg account not only phenomena and cultural figures, but also your actions, family relationships, relationships between people, events in the country, etc. - in a word, everything that can have a formal, official side and a real one, true.

Examples of the use of the expression "Hamburg account"

The specificity of a phraseological unit is such that even with a clear understanding of its meaning, its use can cause problems, since samples of grammatical "fitting" of an expression into a phrase are needed. Indeed, there are not so many grammatical and syntactic options:

• Pelevin is a strong satirist and a very successful commercial project, a successful writer, but if according to the Hamburg account, then this is emptiness, like all the phenomena of postmodernism.
• He is very willing to speak the most different topics, but when Ivan Ivanovich falls silent: he understands that, according to the Hamburg account, all his knowledge is superficial.
• I trust this vet. He will never say too much and will not advise if he does not understand the situation. He works on the Hamburg account, his goal is not to pretend that he understands everything, but to save the animal and not harm him.
• Of course, they won this match. But, according to the Hamburg score, they played poorly. They just got lucky. It was their day.

Appropriate and inappropriate contexts

Phraseologism - one that, in the case of transparency of its meaning, is used freely and swiftly in its use. The same thing happens with the expression "Hamburg account": the origin and meaning of the words are transparent. This means that you can safely experiment. However, in this case one should beware of using the expression even when it is well understood what the Hamburg account is.

The fact is that this expression is itself intended for a conversation “according to the Hamburg account” and resists mundane, everyday, unimportant topics and contexts. It will be inappropriate when talking about whether the birthday went well, whether the cake was a success, or at what level the service in the cafe. In these situations, the expression "Hamburg account" is not redundant only if, for some reason, everyday events are important in someone's fate or are significant for the life of a city or country.

0 Today people use expressions and phraseological units without thinking at all about their origin. It comes to the point that you have to "rummage" on the Internet in search of a proper answer. It is for this reason that the website was created, in which we constantly interpret the meaning and meaning of various words and expressions. Today we'll talk about pretty famous phrase, This Hamburg account, you can find out the meaning of phraseologism a little later.
However, before continuing, I would like to show you some informative articles on the topic of the meaning of proverbs and sayings. For example, what does it mean to Wind yourself up; how to understand Bursting at the seams; what does Set a bath mean; who is called Versta Kolomenskaya, etc.
So let's continue Hamburg account value phraseologism?

Hamburg account- this is an assessment of something without any concessions and discounts, with the utmost accuracy and exactingness

Hamburg account- denotes something fair and honest, which is judged without falsehood and juggling

Example:

You bastard still answer me on the Hamburg account!

This guy is a novice specialist, but according to the Hamburg score, it will be harmful to withstand fierce competition in this field of activity.

Wrestling was popular in Germany at one time, and many spectators came to gawk at two sweaty men who were dragging each other around the arena. cunning coaches and entrepreneurs have learned to take advantage of such spectacular competitions. They distributed the roles between the wrestlers in advance, they said how the competition should go, and who in the end should become the winner and who should lose. In fact, from beginning to end, these were contractual battles, and many viewers did not even know about it.

However, the wrestlers themselves were wondering which of them is actually the strongest and most dexterous. Therefore, once having gathered all together, they decided to hold fights between themselves once a year to find out the strength of each athlete.
For this, they chose one small tavern, which was located in Hamburg. In this place, the fight was exceptionally fair and honest, but almost no one knew about the results of these fights.

True, if you dig a little deeper, it turns out that in Hamburg no one has ever heard of this mysterious tavern, and the fights taking place in it. More likely Shklovsky, namely through him everyone learned this beautiful story, used false information, or simply lied for the sake of a red word.

After reading this sensible article, you learned the meaning of the expression according to the Hamburg account and now you won't get

"The Hamburg Account" is the title of a collection of literary-critical articles by Viktor Shklovsky, published in 1928. In a brief programmatic article that opens the collection, the author himself explains the meaning of the title of the book in the following way: " Hamburg bill - extremely important concept. All wrestlers, when wrestling, cheat and lie down on the shoulder blades at the order of the entrepreneur. Once a year wrestlers gather in a Hamburg tavern. They fight behind closed doors and curtained windows. Long, ugly and hard. Here the true classes of fighters are established - so as not to cheat". According to A.P. Chudakov, commentator modern edition books, real basis this plot became for Shklovsky oral story circus wrestler Ivan Poddubny. However, it is much more likely that the authorship of the expression "Hamburg account" belongs to Shklovsky himself. immediately became catchphrase, especially fashionable in literary environment, expression " hamburg bill " serves as the equivalent of an impartial assessment of something without discounts and concessions, with the utmost exactingness. It is possible that no less popular phraseological unit " by and large", which has the same meaning, is nothing more than a transformation of Shklovsky's idea. For the first time in literature, the phrase "by and large" is found in the novel "Fulfillment of Desires" (1935), created by Veniamin Kaverin, a writer close to Shklovsky's circle. And Today, more and more often in our speech the expression " according to the Hamburg account"- a contamination of two phraseological units invented by writers.

Critic Irina Rodnyanskaya in the article "Hamburg hedgehog in the fog" ( New World. - 2001. - No. 3), dedicated to the problems of literary strategies today, remarks: “Shklovsky could be pleased - almost like Dostoevsky, who was proud of the enrichment of the Russian language with the verb “shrink”. so long ago even the most colorful Duma deputy publicly threatened to judge someone "according to the big Hamburg score". They laughed at the deputy. But in vain. it lies somewhere nearby, but it has not seemed to him alone for so long.

"Hamburg account"(it has become customary to understand) - this is a big aesthetic account in literature, art. Revealing the first-second-last places on the scale of the genuine, real. "Big" - because it opposes "small" accounts conducted by officialdom, groupings, parties in the interests of their situational "Great" - because it refers to the "great time", in whose epochal contours the fog will dissipate, burst bubble and everything will fall into place. The connoisseur, who attracts the "Hamburg account", acts as a guesser, an oracle, listening to the noise of great time, checking the signals from there with his aesthetic instrument.

The legend told by the writer has not been confirmed. Historians of Hamburg and modern restaurant owners do not know anything about wrestling competitions, allegedly held in the old days in a Hamburg tavern. K. V. Dushenko believes that the "Hamburg account" is Shklovsky's own expression. Doubts are added by the fact that I. M. Poddubny, whose age was essential for the plot of his story, was only 53 years old in 1924, and he really fought until 70.

Viktor Shklovsky's definition of a place "at the carpet" for Mikhail Bulgakov was perceived by the latter as insulting, hinting at a clown who was entertaining the audience at the carpet at the circus. This complicated the relationship between the two writers. A hint of a clown, however, was not seen by everyone. Thus, in a letter to literary critic Stanislav Rassadin, Viktor Konetsky expressed a different understanding of Shklovsky's ranking of writers:

Once again, I came across a reproach to V. B. Shklovsky against Bulgakov: “at the carpet” (that is, removed from the game!). This is a kind of mass psychosis, because the expression denotes a high compliment and a prediction of the "Hamburg struggle" and victory in it. This was written "by the carpet" in 1924. The book was published in 1928. To understand the expression, it seems to me, should be:
1. Bulgakov has already arrived in Hamburg. And Serafimovich or Veresaev cannot even approach there.
2. Bulgakov is already STANDING at the carpet, because he is allowed to compete aerobatics(This is in 1924!).
3. Khlebnikov has already left the carpet, for he has already won.

4. Babel has already taken part in a fight, but, according to V. B. Sh., he is a lightweight. Gorky is often out of shape, that is, he can simply be strangled on the carpet - he is already old.

Shklovsky later recognized his prologue as incorrect.

Spreading

Thanks to the book of the same name by Viktor Shklovsky, the expression "Hamburg account", which became widespread in the Russian language, became winged and popular not only among the writers, but also much wider. In particular, it is used by psychologists to identify the real, and not the official place of the individual in the status hierarchy.

…First of all, the “Hamburg account” is relevant when a social psychologist-practitioner works with small groups, determining their current state and development trajectory, identifying the causes of low functionality, both obvious and potential conflicts…

Harry Walter, Dr. philological sciences, Professor at the Ernst Moritz Arndt University in Greifswald .

Outside the Russian language, this expression causes difficulties with translation due to the lack of a concept in other languages ​​and the ambiguity of the Russian word " check". Douglas Robinson (English) Russian offers three options: The Hamburg Score, The Hamburg Rankings, The Hamburg Account for the title of Shklovsky's work, noting that the English. score, rankings better describe the allusion to wrestling competitions, but Richard Sheldon used English when translating. account.

There is an assumption that, by association with the “Hamburg account” of Viktor Shklovsky, the expression “according to by and large", which appeared later in the novel by Veniamin Kaverin "Fulfillment of desires".

Notes

1. Hamburg account (indefinite) (National Psychological Encyclopedia). vocabulary.ru. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
2. Shklovsky V. Hamburg account and by and large // Vopr. culture of speech / Acad. sciences of the USSR. Institute of Russian. lang. Ch. ed. S. I. Ozhegov. - M.: Nauka, 1965. - Issue. 6. - S. 129-131. - 241 p. - 8500 copies.
3. Shklovsky V. Hamburg account. - L .: Publishing house of writers in Leningrad, 1928. - S. 5. - 247 p. - 4000 copies.
4. Myagkov B. S. Bulgakov Moscow. - M. : Mosk. worker, 1993. - S. 120-126. - 222 p. - ISBN 5-239-01439-6.
5. House of Griboyedov // Bulgakov Encyclopedia/ B. V. Sokolov. - M. : Lokid: Mif, 1996. - S. 191-198. - 592 p. - ISBN 5-320-00143-6. - ISBN 5-87214-028-3.
6. According to the Hamburg account // encyclopedic Dictionary winged words and expressions / [aut.-comp. Vadim Serov]. - M. : Lokid-press, 2004. - 877, p. - 2000 copies. - ISBN 5-320-00323-4.
7. Dushenko K.V. Dictionary of modern quotes: 4300 walking quotes and expressions of the XX century, their sources, author, dating. - M. : Agraf, 1997. - S. 406. - 628, p. - ISBN 5-7784-0031-4.
8. Poddubny Ivan Maksimovich / V. I. Linder // Peru - Semitrailer. - M. : Bolshaya Russian encyclopedia, 2014. - S. 541-542. - (Great Russian encyclopedia: [in 35 volumes] / ch. ed. Yu. S. Osipov; 2004-2017, v. 26). - ISBN 978-5-85270-363-7.
9. Belozerskaya-Bulgakova L. E. Oh honey of memories. - Ann Arbor, Michigan: Ardis, 1979. - p. 45. - 134 p. - ISBN 0-88233-318-6.
10. Konetsky V.V. Echo: (Around and around letters from readers). - 2nd ed., Rev. and additional - St. Petersburg. : Blitz, 2001. - S. 324-325. - 453, p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-86789-142-9.
11. Putin hat da noch eine Hamburger Rechnung offen(German). Die Welt (10/24/2014). Retrieved 15 September 2017.
12. Walter Harry. About two "German" eptonyms in Russian (Hamburg account; Who is late, history punishes him) (indefinite) . Problems of history, philology, culture (2011). Retrieved 12 September 2017.