“Sharashkina’s office”, “hot spot”: where did they come from. "Sharashka" or "Sharashka's office" - what is it?

The expression that we will analyze today is almost slang or jargon. But nevertheless, it justifiably arouses a certain interest among people. We are talking about the phraseological unit “sharashkin’s office”. Let's consider the origin and main situations of use.

Etymology

According to the dictionary (or rather, some hypotheses from it), “sharashkina factory (office)” has a pronounced negative character. Of course, without a doubt, the expression is used primarily in colloquial speech.

Regarding the origin, a hypothesis is put forward that the phraseological unit is formed from dialecticism - “sharash”, i.e. crook, coward, trash.

Compare also the verbs “to stun” - to stun, “to shy away” - to hit. This is the presumptive etymology of the phrase “sharashkin’s office.” The meaning of the phraseological unit follows.

Meaning

Knowing the etymology, it is not difficult to understand the meaning. If “Sharash” is a crook, then Sharashka’s factory (or office) is an organization of bandits or a criminal organization, a collection of swindlers and scoundrels. There are even several variations of phraseological units among people: “sharash-montazh” and “sharaga”.

There is one unscientific phenomenon in colloquial speech: when an expression takes root in a language, they try to shorten it as much as possible in order to speak in one breath. For example, the cumbersome word “video recorder” turned into a simple “video recorder”. This happened just at the time when the video camera became an indispensable attribute of any Russian apartment (or almost any one).

The same can be said about the expression “sharashkin’s office” - this is a fairly close ancestor of “sharaga”. However, enough theory, let's move on to practice.

"Sharashkin's offices" in sports

There are several interpretations here. For example, football: here the meaning of the expression shifts a little. In football, a “sharashkin’s office” can be called a weak club that prepares players mainly for sale, for import, so to speak.

But an important note: the Porto football club, well known in this regard, is not a “sharashkin’s office”. Although he sells half his team every season to different, more famous clubs, he does not allow himself to lower the bar for his achievements.

In this context, the expression “sharashkin’s office” has the following meaning: something that does not meet a certain standard or level. As can be seen from this example, here “sharaga” has nothing to do with swindlers and scoundrels.

In general, when they talk about football club(anyone) that he is a “Sharashkina factory”, i.e. a forge of personnel for other teams, then such assessments are more likely of an emotional nature than reflect the actual state of affairs. IN different time this epithet could characterize the policies of the London Arsenal, Moscow CSKA and others no less famous clubs, but not the monsters of European football. The latter usually collect all the cream.

Bets

Another meaning of the phrase “sharashkin’s office” (football still occupies us), which concerns sports. So, for example, they talk about a bookmaker’s office that is not very honest, in the opinion of users. Its management can, for example, lower betting odds and perform other tricks. Of course, such a policy is not very profitable, because there will be an outflow of bettors, but some people believe that they are smarter than others.

As can be seen from the previous example, when it comes to betting, people return in their assessments to the original, classic interpretation of the phraseology “sharashkin's office” - that is, an organization of crooks. To be fair, it must be said that people who play betting are not always objective in their assessments.

Commercial universities as “sharashkin’s offices”

Here again we have to say that the phrase discussed in the article departs from its original meaning and only says that commercial universities are inferior in quality of education to public ones.

Of course, it does not mean (at least directly) that such “sharashka offices” do not, for example, have a license. Although, anything could happen. But here we mean only such parameters as “demandingness” - it, as people believe, is reduced in commercial educational institutions compared to state universities. The meaning seems clear.

Such fabrications and names, of course, have a right to exist, but here they are judged indiscriminately and in general such an approach is, as a rule, false.

Educational boom and the phenomenon of “sharashkin’s offices”

In defense of commercial universities, it is worth saying that they responded (and still do) to a certain request from society. Agree that in our society there is such a trend to “have higher education" When you read any, even a janitor should be educated. Of course, this is slightly absurd, but this is our social reality.

That’s why “universities” arose, which, in terms of quality, lacked stars from the sky, but satisfied the population’s need for the coveted “crust” of higher education.

Yes, in the 2000s of the 21st century it happened that such establishments went bankrupt. Some even had not very pleasant stories associated with them.

V.V. Mayakovsky wrote “After all, if the stars light up, does that mean someone needs it?” It’s the same story with commercial universities. If they exist, it means that someone is interested in them, and they benefit not only their owners, but also people. The provision of educational services (now called so) is a socially responsible and oriented business, so it depends on the needs and requirements of society.

Many, even students studying at such institutions, speak disparagingly about commercial universities, using the expression “sharashkin’s office.” Although if it weren’t for her, they would have no hope of getting a higher education at all. Commercial universities can be considered as a kind of modern “rabfak” (working faculty). It was possible to enter the workers' faculty if you passed the exams with a "3". At the same time, whoever wanted to study became, after passing the workers' school, a real professional.

In defense of the “sharashkin firms”

If we ignore the original meaning, we must admit that the phraseological unit in question cannot always be regarded as an insult. In the traditional sense, the expression “sharashkin's office” means a cluster of swindlers and dishonest people, but now, as shown above, there are some variations in the meaning of this phraseological unit.

And sometimes, if someone calls a human business a “sharashka office,” he is simply envious of the fact that it is very tenacious.

"Sharashka" or " Sharashkin's office" - what it is?

Sharashka was the name of the place of detention where people of engineering, scientific and technical professions served their sentences (while working). This happened during the time of the NKVD in the Soviet Union.

Sharashkin's office - in our time, this is a slang expression denoting a company where swindlers and deceivers work who do not inspire confidence in themselves. This expression always has a negative, negative meaning.

One version of the origin of the word sharashka is associated with horses. It is known that a horse that has been wearing blinkers for too long, without them, begins to get scared of literally everything in a row and shy away from side to side.

Hence sharashka is something unstable, unpredictable and even scary. In this sense, the word has been used at least since the third quarter of the 19th century, judging by literary sources. So sharashka as a closed office appeared much later.

The short answer is that this is a design bureau behind the barbed wire of the Stalin era.

Sharaga according to the dictionary of the living Great Russian language V.I. Dalya is a kind of crook and scrapper, that is, a poser and a frivolous person - practically a buffoon. Perhaps the word sharaga, like sharomyzhnik, has French roots, but ignorance of the Gali language does not allow me to guess more precisely.

So, Sharashka’s office is a kind of frivolous establishment, one might even say the office of Horns and Hooves

Actually, in the 30s, the expression sharaga or sharashkin konior takes on a new meaning and becomes an office in which prisoners work.

But by the 70s, everything changes again and sharaga becomes a designation for vocational school, and the concept of sharashka’s office is separated from it again and becomes a frivolous, untrustworthy enterprise.

Sharashka was the name given to design bureaus that were located behind barbed wire. They were staffed by scientists who were imprisoned. They worked for the good of their homeland. Sharashkin's office is now a phraseological unit meaning an establishment that should not be trusted.

Sharashka is a slang term for a prison-type research and design bureau (in prison), which are subordinate to the NKVD/MVD of the USSR. This is an old concept. Scientists who were imprisoned - engineers and technicians - worked in these research institutes and design bureaus.

The adjective sharashkina comes from the word sharan, which means needy, thief, disadvantaged sections of the population. If it is Sharashkin’s office, it means that it obviously does not deserve the minimum trust of respectable people.

From the lips of many young people you can hear this slang expression Sharaga (Sharashka). Sharashka is a kind of educational institution in which these students study (in most cases these are colleges, technical schools and vocational schools). This is usually said by young people (and not only) who do not respect their studies or are generally tired of studying)

Three met. To the question “Where do you work?” the answer was:

In sharashka, at the Research Institute of Light Industry.
- In the sharashka, an acquaintance and a friend opened it. We sell, buy, exchange.
- In sharashka, five years in a camp Far East invented a new engine for the tank.

Everyone has their own sharashka, and all three took place in our lives.

When did the expression “sharashkin's office” appear?

There are three versions. The first will take us to the beginning of the 20th century.

New Economic Policy– The NEP gave the citizens of the Soviet Union the opportunity to engage in private business. Baths, cafes, hairdressers, fashion studios, and shoemakers opened in large numbers. Simultaneously with very the right people Enterprises, like mushrooms after rain, began to multiply various offices. Remember this one in the immortal novel by Ilf and Petrov? Nobody knew what “Horns and Hooves” did, but the money flowed like a river.

Who organized such sharashkin offices?

The police had a clear answer to this question: swindlers of all stripes. In polite society they were called “sharash”, and ordinary people, without ceremony, used the word “trash”. Everyone agreed that these offices were opened by all sorts of crooks who had neither honor nor conscience at heart. Not only do they open, but the same people work there dishonest people. This means that doing business with this kind of office is a big risk. They will cheat you, ruin you and let you go around the world naked.

Long gone are the days of the NEP, and the experience of opening sharashka offices was not in vain. From time to time they reopen, constantly improving the techniques and methods of collecting easy money from gullible citizens. Either they sell dietary supplements under the guise of a panacea, or they sell people miraculous devices for water purification, or they cure all illnesses and even cancer with salt dressings.

Stalin's sharashkas

The second version tells about them. The first wave of repressions slightly spared the design engineers and scientists, but the second washed away the entire flower of science into the camps. Those who did not commit suicide out of despair and did not die from exhaustion were decided to be “used for their intended purpose.” It was a sin to simply destroy such minds; let them be useful. And it’s convenient: you don’t need to pay, you don’t need to provide a car and an apartment either. Humiliated and discouraged, these people will work for a plate of “skinny” gruel and for the illusory hope of someday being released and rehabilitated.

The corresponding Decree was issued in February 1930, although the first sharashkas began operating in 1938. The authorities received a detailed circular on May 15. The main task is to use enemies of the people and pests with great efficiency for the military industry. Moreover, it had to be done only on the premises of the OGPU, that is, in places of serving punishment.

The OGPU immediately began organizing sharashkas behind barbed wire. Design bureaus and even large research institutes were opened, in which the brightest minds of the country worked with great benefit for the state. Three years before the war, the Department of Special Design Bureaus was created, which in the same year, 1938, was renamed the 4th Department of the Special Department.

Until Stalin's death in 1953, these sharashkas created engines for sea vessels, aircraft engines, new military aircraft and tanks, artillery shells and worked on the creation of chemical weapons. From the end of 1944, German prisoners of war - engineers and designers - appeared in these design bureaus.

Reference: in sharashkas behind barbed wire the following were created:

• in 1930 - I-5 fighter (TsKB-39, project manager - Polikarpov N.G.);
• in 1931 - a high-capacity steam locomotive "Felix Dzerzhinsky" (TB OGPU);
• in 1938 - the DVB-102 bomber, flying at high altitudes (TsKB-29, project manager - V.M. Myasishchev);
• in 1939 - Pe-2 dive bomber (TsKB-29, project manager - Petlyakov V.M.);
• in 1941 - front-line bomber Tu-2 (TsKB-29, project manager - Tupolev A.N.);
• in 1942-1943, auxiliary aviation liquid-propellant rocket engines RD-1, RD-2, RD-3 were delivered to the front from the special department of the NKVD, supervising the sharashka at the Kazan plant No. 16 (project manager - Glushko V.P.)

There was also a 152 mm artillery system and a 75 mm regimental cannon. Yes, the prisoners who worked in the sharashkas managed to produce a lot more for the army. No one would dare speak of them as idlers and scoundrels.

Is the research institute also a sharashka?

The third version will tell about all kinds of Scientific Research Institutes, that is, research institutes. There were a variety of people working there; there were many talented engineers. But there were also a lot of “idle people.” There is no talent, perseverance and desire to learn anything are also completely absent. Having received an assignment to a research institute after college, these young specialists spent many years wiping their pants there. It is because of them that many design institutes, either jokingly or seriously, were also called sharashkas. In this case, the analogy with the “Horns and Hooves” offices worked.

Which is correct - sharashka or sharazhka?

Linguists allow both spellings. If the word was formed from sharaga, then we write “sharazhka”, that is, there is an alternation of the consonants G and Zh in the root. If we meant certain swindlers Sharashkins - the pioneers of such offices, then we write “Sharashka”.

And again an expression from life - many people use it, but not many know where it comes from. When we say “sharashkin’s office,” we mean some kind of enterprise, a company that is engaged in something unknown and why, and is clearly fraudulent in nature, a collection of swindlers, so to speak. In general, an ironic expression with a clearly negative connotation. “Where did Vasya find a job? “Yes, in some sharashka’s office, you know what the hell.”

Among the people, in addition to this expression itself, they use the similar meaning “sharash-montazh” (usually applied to suspicious construction organizations) and simply “sharaga”, applied to poorly organized and shabby offices. For example, in my youth, a student dormitory was called “sharaga”.

Where did it come from, this expression?

The fact is that in the old Russian dialect the word “sharash” meant swindlers, deceivers, beggars, even robbers. For example, from him, from this word, came such concepts as “stun” - that is, to stun and “to shy away” - to hit. I think it's completely clear why. So it turns out that “sharashka’s office” is a bunch of these same swindlers, and the office itself does not inspire trust.

In addition to this, the most commonly used meaning of the expression “sharashka’s office,” there is also a less frequently used, but also related word - “sharashka.” And here the meaning is completely different. More precisely, not completely different, but clearly having a different connotation - respect and even sometimes admiration. For example: “- Yes, my dad worked in Korolev’s sharashka! - Gosha! Are you lying?

The explanation is this: under Stalin, talented scientists and engineers, convicted of various offenses, could quickly atone for their guilt by working hard for the state. Scientific teams were created from such people, placed in separate buildings or groups of buildings, and worked there, under appropriate protection and/or under an appropriate regime of maintaining secrecy. Such offices were called “special design bureaus”, and in the jargon - “sharashkas”.

P.S. Somewhere I came across a stubborn version that, supposedly, during the time of the NEP, when small individual shops and offices began to appear, like mushrooms after rain, created ordinary people, the state treated them, against the backdrop of gigantic collective construction projects, as nothing. Like a trifle not significant. And he called them “Sharashkin’s offices”, from the typical surname of a small merchant - Sharashkin. That is, like the “Ivanovo office” or the “Sidorovskaya office”. So - this is bullshit, not a version.

Where did the expression “sharashkin's office” come from? updated: July 7, 2017 by: Roman Gvozdikov

Sharashkin's office Prost. Contempt. Untrustworthy, worthless institution, enterprise: - I was assigned to work at Todt - the Germans had such a sharashkina office for the construction of roads and defensive structures(Sholokhov. The fate of man).

Phrasebook Russian literary language. - M.: Astrel, AST. A. I. Fedorov. 2008.

See what "Sharashkina's office" is in other dictionaries:

Sharashka's office- noun, number of synonyms: 6 sharaga (10) sharashka (6) sharashkin business (4) ... Synonym dictionary

Sharashka's office- simple. , neglected an undignified, untrustworthy institution, enterprise, organization. Possessive adjective Sharashkina is explained by the dialect sharan “trash, rogue, crook.” Sharashkin’s office literally means “institution, organization... ... Phraseology Guide

Sharashka's office- (or Sharashkin’s company, Sharashkin’s factory; Sharashkin’s business; Sharashkin’s gains, etc.) a dubious establishment, event; dark company. From the sharashka... Dictionary of Russian argot

Sharashkin's office- Razg. Neglected 1. An undignified, untrustworthy institution, enterprise, organization. FSRY, 204; BTS, 1490; BMS 1998, 294. 2. Poorly managed establishment. FSRY, 204; BMS 1998, 294. 3. Absolute disorder. FSRY, 204; BMS 1998, 294; Grachev,... ... Big dictionary Russian sayings

Sharashka's office- ball of Ashkina’s account, ball of Ashkin’s account… Russian spelling dictionary

Sharashka's office- colloquial reduction 1) A fraudulent enterprise, a fraudulent company. 2) An enterprise, an institution engaged in unnecessary, useless business... Dictionary of many expressions

sharashkina company- Sharashkin's factory, Sharashkin's profits, Sharashkin's business, Sharashkin's office Dictionary of Russian synonyms. sharashkin company noun, number of synonyms: 4 sharashkin business (4) ... Synonym dictionary

office- y, w. comptoir m. Goal. kantoor, German Kontor. 1. A public office, usually a subdivision of a central institution. Sl. 18. His Tsar’s Majesty’s General Regulations or Charter according to which state boards, as well as all... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

sharashka factory- noun, number of synonyms: 4 sharashkin business (4) sharashkin company (4) ... Synonym dictionary

office- OFFICE, s, f. 1. Police. 2. KGB (FSB). 3. Any dubious establishment. Things are going well, the office says everything is fine, everything is in order. See also: Sharashkin's office... Dictionary of Russian argot