The stable phrase “pique vest” has long been firmly established in the Russian language, both in colloquial and in literary. But not everyone, faced with this expression, understands what is at stake. This article will help you figure it out.
Interpretation
First you need to parse the word "pique." What is a “peak”? This word of French origin is pique, literally translated as “quilted”. In our language, the so-called double cotton linen fabric, which has a convex pattern, that is, it is quilted, warm. Accordingly, this phrase does not carry any unusual meaning. What is it about him? In our speech, it appeared and consolidated thanks to the immortal work, which was written by Ilf and Petrov - “The Golden Calf”, published in 1931.
What does the expression “piquet vest” mean?
For those who have not read, or do not remember this from the book - a short digression. In the novel "The Golden Calf" in the city of Chernomorsk, at the usual place near the dining room, venerable old people gathered every day, dressed in white pique vests and boater straw hats. Older men were out of work, so they discussed the news that they read in the Moscow newspaper Pravda, since they did not trust the local print media.
With an important appearance, like real experts in all fields of knowledge, they discussed what is happening in the world and in the country, evaluated the actions of politicians and diplomats, unraveled their secret motives and ideas, thoughtfully thought about what they did not understand at all or were uninformed. And also believed that their town plays an important role in world geopolitics. The emphasis on warm senile vests is made because they are hopelessly outdated even for their time, both the vests themselves and their wearers. Subsequently, this phrase became a household name.
Pike vest - what does it mean in real time?
Actually, the meaning is almost the same as in the Golden Calf novel. These are ordinary people, ordinary inhabitants, who like to discuss various controversial issues, posing as professional experts in all areas of science, politics, economics, and sports, although they are actually ignorant of this issue and, in fact, are engaged in idle talk. At the same time, they expose their opinion as the only true one.
Has the meaning changed?
And yet, much has changed since those times described in the novel created by Ilf and Petrov “The Golden Calf”. Their pique vests were venerable elderly people who had nothing to do after retirement. Nowadays, people of completely different age, gender and social stratum are becoming pique vests. In fact, this phenomenon has become a kind of phenomenon, the causes of which are difficult to understand. You never know what exactly will push a person, even an intellectual, to become a pique vest.
Why is this happening?
The modern world with its technological progress has brought many new opportunities to the activities of pique vests. The Internet provides access to a host of all kinds of information. This is no longer just the Pravda newspaper, it is a mass of various sources: newspapers, magazines, radio, television, online publications, social networks and others. And all this is freely available. In addition, more and more people do not want to work, work, everyone wants to do nothing and get money from the air. And also spend all their time on the Internet. This is no longer the “Golden Calf”, where a piqué vest can share its opinion with a group of interlocutors, now it receives at its disposal a huge audience, millions of people.
From here all kinds of so-called “experts”, “analysts”, as well as bloggers and simple commentators appear. That's just exactly their opinion they do not have. They either interpret or simply retell the source of information that they believe is the only true one. There is a direct parallel with the novel. And it doesn’t matter if it is a “yellow press” or something like that. There are many who are paid to give out strangers for their thoughts needed by the customer. For Ilf and Petrov, this was an occupation for the soul. In general, pique vests have clearly reached a new level.
Winged expression in modern realities.
The very phrase “pique vest” itself is no doubt still relevant. However, the new realities are making their own adjustments, now this winged expression has its own synonyms on the network. These are “sofa analysts” and “sofa troops”. Why sofa? But it is no longer necessary to gather “opposite the covered veranda of the Narpitovskaya dining room No. 68”, now you can do it on your favorite sofa at the computer.
As for the first, everything is clear enough here. Sofa analysts clearly think that they are experts in all kinds of economic issues, such as exchange rates, international economic relations, gas prices and all that sort of thing.
Naturally, without politics, nowhere. They write whole "analytical articles", which, however, for the most part no one reads. They condemn the actions of the government, reveal political intrigues, predict the elections and do so much more that it seems that they do nothing at all. The meaning of their life has become so.
Due to the fact that in recent years, wars have broken out in one country or another, and in general the situation in the world is quite tense and explosive, a whole army of “divan troops” from different countries has appeared. This type of pique vests imagined itself to be real experts in the field of tactics and strategies for waging war, weapons, inciting and settling military conflicts. They think that in their warmth and comfort, behind the screen of their monitors they know better how to fight than politicians, generals, and even soldiers at the front.
