The expression "worm to kill" since childhood is familiar to each of us. This verbal phrase is used to satisfy hunger, have a light bite before the main meal. It turns out that the creature hiding under the mask of an unknown worm is not so gluttonous, but why should it be frozen, and not appeased or appeased?
The Spanish caterpillar and the French beast are the brothers of our worm
Many European languages have a similar concept, but it refers exclusively to fasting drinks. The Spaniards say matar el gusanillo, the Portuguese say matar o bicho, the French say tuer le ver. In literal translation, it sounds like "kill the caterpillar" and "destroy the beast." There is clearly a direct connection with our idiom "kill the worm." The meaning of phraseologism becomes more understandable, since the verb in its composition is synonymous with such concepts as “torture”, “lime”, “kill”, “put to death”.
The thing is that in medieval Europe, alcoholic beverages were used as an anthelmintic. A glass of alcohol was supposed to be drunk on an empty stomach to accelerate the death of worms living in the human body. Today, completely different drugs are used to combat parasites. But the custom of “worm to kill”, that is, to miss a glass before breakfast, remained.
Insidious monster in the heart of a dead lady
In France, among the regulars of drinking establishments who prefer to sit at the bar in the morning, the bike that is presented as pure truth is popular. They say that once in a Parisian family a young woman suddenly died. Having opened the body of the deceased, doctors discovered in her heart a huge worm unknown to science. All attempts to kill him did not lead to success, the animal was surprisingly tenacious.
Then one of the doctors decided to lure the monster with a piece of bread soaked in wine. Having tried the offered treat, the parasite at the same moment gave up the spirit. It is believed that this particular case underlies the tradition of "kill the worm" or "kill the beast."
The monster eating our guts
In Russian, unlike French or Spanish, the expression "kill a worm" is a synonym for a light snack without drinking alcohol. According to some researchers, an idiom could arise under the influence of popular beliefs. At a time when people knew very little about the anatomical features of the human body, it was believed that there was a snake inside the abdomen that needed to be fed constantly.
A rumbling in an empty stomach was associated with the monster's displeasure. If he did not satisfy his need for food in time, it could eat a person from the inside - it is no coincidence that during long breaks in food, he began to suck under his stomach. It is possible that such an idea of the structure of internal organs became the starting point for the emergence of the expression "kill the worm." The value of phraseological unit subsequently acquired a soft ironic coloring, and the formidable aspid "turned" into a small harmless booger.
