Hearing an unpleasant prediction, an unkind thought or something unacceptable, we often say: "Tip to your tongue, " but we don’t even think about what we want to talk to. This wish is not at all friendly. What does it mean and is it possible to say so? The meaning of this phraseological unit, its origin and use in modern speech will be discussed in the article.
What is a pip?
Tipun is a hardening on the tip of the tongue in birds that helps it peck grains. Its growth is a disease.
Hard pimples, sores in the tongue of a person, are also called pips, by analogy with bird growths.
According to superstitious notions, pips appear among deceivers and liars or those who have offended a verbally innocent person.
The origin of the word "tipun"
Fesmer Max Friedrich (German linguist of Russian descent) suggested that the name "tipun" comes from the name of the disease in German, "pips". Miklosic France (Slovenian and Austrian linguist) compared the word with Ukrainian “pipip” and Bulgarian “pipka”, which mean “bump”.
There is also another version of the origin of the word - from the verb "type", which means "pinch" or "peck."
Since the 16th century, sores in the human language, which were considered signs of deceit or slander, began to be called pips in Russian.
“Pip your tongue”: the meaning of phraseology
This expression is not a good wish. If a person lied, slandered someone, uttered unflattering words to another person, then you can wish him: "Tip to your tongue." In Dahl's explanatory dictionary, such a wish is marked as an abusive (swearing) expression, and they use it in response to nonsense, idle chatter.
Nowadays, its meaning has somewhat changed and it is more ironic to a person who has expressed something unkind or unpleasant, and does not have an abusive tone at all.
The use of phraseology in fiction
Phraseologism "Tipun to your tongue" was widely used in literature, for example:
- N. N. Nekrasov in "The Green Noise": "She said herself, stupid, Tipun to her tongue!";
- Vyazemsky P. A. in the work "Station": "He would be a tip in the tongue!"
In the Dictionary of the living Great Russian language, Dahl V. has the word "wipe off", which means to get a tip or sore in the mouth.
There is such an interesting book called “Dictionary to the plays of Ostrovsky A. N.”, which provides an explanation of the expression “pimp-mongrel” - this is a dismissive expression in relation to a capricious person who is not so.
Causes of tipun in humans and its symptoms
But in fact, pips, or glossitis, are sores in the human tongue that appear due to poor oral hygiene. The main reason for the development of glossitis is the multiplication of bacteria that enter the mouth with dirty hands. In addition to poor hygiene, the causes of glossitis can be microtrauma of the tongue (cut, burn, injection), the presence of serious diseases (tuberculosis, stomatitis, candidiasis), a lack of vitamins, and weakened immunity.
Symptoms of glossitis are burning pains and numbness of the tongue, while there may be painful swallowing and chewing. There is a whitish coating on the tongue. If the disease is superficial, then taste buds are disturbed, it becomes difficult and painful to talk, increased salivation appears. In the complicated course of the disease, the inflammatory process moves to the throat, it becomes painful to swallow, eat, chew, and talk.
Treating pips is a must. If this problem is not taken seriously, the disease can develop into a chronic form, which is much more difficult to treat.
