Progress, as we know, does not stand still. Together with it, society develops, language becomes richer and undergoes changes.
Proverbs undergo natural selection. Some are shortened, while others are partially forgotten, which is why they change their meaning.
Everyone knows that "they carry water on the offended". This is what they said about vindictive people, touchy, withdrawn.
In this way, they tried to convey to the touchy person that he had chosen an occupation that was not the most useful for him.
But the unforgettable Vladimir Ivanovich Dal, who in addition to various words also knew many different proverbs, pointed to a different origin of folk wisdom.
It turns out that it originally sounded like this: “They carry water on angry people.”
The meaning of what was said was that the punishment is borne not by the environment, but by the angry (in the modern version – offended) person.
But popular rumor, as if in revenge, came up with a continuation: “They carry water on angry people, but they ride on kind people.”
So, after this, trust people: it turns out that being angry (offended) is not good.
However, being kind to everyone and forgiving everyone is also to one’s own detriment.
Earlier we talked about how to properly communicate with a shy person .
