What does the expression neither this nor that mean? The meaning of NEITHER NOR THAT in the Spelling Dictionary
People with the same lifestyle can receive different evaluations in the eyes of God
Once, talking with his disciples about, Christ said: (Matt. 24:40–41). The very image of the Savior’s expression attracts attention - it turns out that people with a very similar type of activity, with the same way of life can receive completely different assessments in the eyes of God. According to the interpretations of this verse by the ancient holy fathers, the division will occur according to the scheme “believer-unbeliever, righteous-unrighteous.” However, Saint Theophan the Recluse has an idea that allows us to look at the Gospel lines from a slightly different angle.
In the book “What is Spiritual Life,” the saint argues that every person has a body of life, a soul of life, and a spirit of life. The body of life is the active, external side of our being; what other people see in us. The soul of life is determined by thoughts, according to which all deeds are carried out. Thoughts feed on the secret dispositions of the heart - from them all our ideas and plans are born. It is these deep intuitions, the totality of feelings and desires of the heart that make up the spirit of life. According to the quality of the spirit of life, God will carry out His judgment, as the Apostle Paul writes: God will judge the secret deeds of men(Rom. 2:16). True, the synodal translation of this passage does not accurately convey the meaning. The original text says: God will judge the secrets of people(translated more correctly in Church Slavonic: when God judges the secret of man). It is possible that the secret is the spirit of life that St. Theophan speaks about.
Further, the Recluse writes that the spirit of life, in turn, has four categories. The first is a God-fearing spirit. The bearer of a God-fearing spirit is focused on serving God and, more than anything else, is afraid of upsetting the Heavenly Father. A self-loving spirit - when the same thing is applied to oneself: I serve myself and am very afraid of upsetting myself. A peace-loving spirit serves the world and loves the world (the word “world” means the totality of sin, like a universe without God). But Feofan’s fourth spirit of life has an interesting name: neither this nor that.
The recluse writes that most people breathe this spirit. It’s not that they were too proud, no. However, they will always find a reason to avoid self-sacrifice. And not to say that they are very peace-loving - but “they are not averse to amusing themselves with the world in the affairs of the world.” Maybe they are not God-fearing? Not at all - they treat God well. True, they don’t really want to please Him. They go to church, pray for something, but at the same time the thought of serving God and their neighbor is far from them. They are more or less indifferent to the matter of salvation.
There is no need to guess how God relates to the first three categories - everything is extremely clear there. But how does God view the spirit of the “neither this nor that” life? It seems that representatives of such a spirit are even more unpleasant to God than open atheists. The Lord rejects such people, says Saint Theophan. It is about them that Christ spoke in the Apocalypse: you are neither cold nor hot... I will spit you out of my mouth(Rev. 3:15–16). The wrath of God will fall upon the bearers of the spirit of life, called “neither this nor that,” which, perhaps, can well be called the spirit of lukewarmness.
Here we remember the words of the Savior about the Last Judgment: there will be two on the field: one is taken and the other is left; two grinding millstones: one is taken and the other is left(Matt. 24:40–41). Despite the absolute similarity of deeds and lifestyle, people will receive unequal rewards from God, because they were moved by different spirits. This is how Theophan the Recluse expresses his thought: “The forms of human life are the same... but the spirit and direction of everything are different.” And the whole point here is that we are not talking about external activity, which for many can be very similar, but about the internal filling of words and actions. And no one except God can see this.
This is how we mostly live, half-heartedly - indeed, “neither this nor that.”
Of course, the thoughts of Saint Theophan especially make us think about the spirit of “neither this nor that,” for one cannot help but notice its signs in one’s life. Somehow, for the most part, we live like this, half-heartedly and without much effort - indeed, “neither this nor that.” And you seem to understand everything, and you’re scared before God, but you don’t have the strength to change your life to a God-fearing spirit. Either there is no desire, or maybe there is little faith - it’s difficult to figure it out. Perhaps, the spirit of life “neither this nor that” manifests itself precisely in this way: when a person remains in the Church for years, without spiritual growth and practically without changing in his soul. It seems like he even understands everything, but he can’t do anything with himself.
How amazing it is that you can even be a seemingly “good” person - friendly, sympathetic, hardworking - but in a Christian attitude remain “neither this nor that.” Outwardly everything may be beautiful, but if beneath the apparent orderliness there are impure heartfelt aspirations or, even worse, secret indifference to God and neighbors, then there is a risk of losing heaven and being left with those left at the millstone. The spirit of life, hiding in the body of life during our earthly existence, will say absolutely everything about us in the face of the Creator in the other world. And if the name of this spirit is “neither this nor that,” where will we end up?
The four spirits of life are like the four directions of the world. Four paths leading to very different eternities. You need to choose the path upward, and only a God-fearing spirit leads there. Obviously, we need to ask God for it. “In prayer, ask for the fear of God,” an old monk once advised us, young sextons, after the liturgy, in the altar. I didn't understand him at all then. But now, years later, the elder’s advice is remembered, just as I suddenly remembered the lines of St. Theophan that I had read. And I already know what I will ask Christ for during the blessed time of Great Lent.
NEITHER
neither this nor that
Orthographic dictionary. 2012
See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what NEITHER OR THAT is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:
- NEITHER in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
in prose and poetry, every Saturday edition - published in St. Petersburg from February 21 to July 11, 1769; ed. IN. … - NEITHER in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia:
in prose and verse, published every Saturday? published in St. Petersburg from February 21 to July 11, 1769; publisher V. ... - NEITHER
pronoun decomposition Something vague (usually with a hint... - NEITHER
neither one nor the other... - NEITHER
neither this nor that pronoun. decomposition Something vague (usually with a hint... - NEITHER
places decomposition Something vague (usually with a hint... - NEITHER
I am neither this nor that predicate. decomposition 1. About an undistinguished, average, ordinary person, not distinguished by bright qualities or... - NI
- Not, … - NI in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
, particle. 1. In combination with rod. n. means the complete absence of someone, the non-realization of something. Not a cloud. Not a soul around. Neither... - NI
- NI in the New Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
- NI in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
neither, the particle is intensifying and ... - NI
neither, the particle is intensifying and ... - NI in the Spelling Dictionary:
neither, the particle is intensifying and ... - NO...
neither connects simple sentences in enumerative relations nor... Forms pronominal words with meaning. negations + no one, nothing, none, no one, nowhere, ... - NI in Ozhegov’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
Serves to strengthen denial. + I didn’t meet a single person. neither In an affirmative sentence in combination with pronominal words “who”, ... - NI in Dahl's Dictionary:
with negation in general, meaning. denial, refusal, prohibition: lack, absence; without exclusivity; firm and general denial. Not a speck of dust. Not a penny... - NI
(no impact.). The part of the pronouns “nobody” and “nothing” that is separated when combined with a preposition. I haven't heard anything. From no one... - NI in Ushakov’s Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language:
(without impact), particle. 1. amplifier in negative. proposals. used before a noun with the word “one”, which can be omitted in all cases, ... - NI in Ephraim's Explanatory Dictionary:
1. Wed. several Name of a letter of the Greek alphabet. 2. conjunction Us. with increasing negation and connection of homogeneous members of a sentence or whole... - NI in the New Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
I uncl. Wed Name of a letter of the Greek alphabet. II conjunction Used to strengthen the negation and connection of homogeneous members of a sentence or whole... - NI in the Large Modern Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language:
I uncl. Wed Name of a letter of the Greek alphabet. II conjunction Used to strengthen negation when connecting homogeneous parts of a sentence or whole... - THAT in the Dictionary of Automotive Jargon:
- … - THAT in the Dictionary of meanings of Egyptian names:
(m) - ... - THAT in the Dictionary of African Name Meanings:
(m) - ... - SE in the Brief Church Slavonic Dictionary:
- Here, … - SE in Medical terms:
see Strontium unit... - SE in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
in Chinese mythology, the legendary ruler, assistant to Yu and Shun, founder of the Shang Dynasty. Born miraculously from an egg... - SIO in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
, this, places. decree. Usage in certain expressions in meaning. This. This and that (various, all; colloquial). For no reason... - THAT in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
, union 1. Usage at the beginning of the main clause as part of a complex conjunction “if...then” with a conditional meaning. If it's late, then don't... - SE in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
-DOWN-HAIRED, -aya, -oe; -os. With gray hair... - THAT
HOU (T1 HoHi) (real name Nguyen Kim Thanh) (b. 1920), Vietnamese. poet. Sat. citizens. lyrics "Vietbak" (1955), "Gust of Wind" (1961), ... - THAT in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
HOAY (T1 HoAi) (real name Nguyen Shen) (b. 1920), Vietnamese. writer. Stories; rum "Western Region" (1966) about life in the districts ... - SE in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
JUN, Xi Jun (b. 1970), Chinese. chess player; international grandmaster (1990), int. Grandmaster among men (1994). World champion in... - SE in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
HE, whale. 5th century painting theorist In the treatise “Categories of Classical Painting” he succinctly formulated 6 rules for the painter, incl. attentive... - THAT in the Complete Accented Paradigm according to Zaliznyak.
- THAT in the Russian Synonyms dictionary:
measure... - SIO in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language.
- THAT in the New Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
1. Wed. 1) Usage when indicating something previously expressed, just communicated; corresponds in meaning to the word: this. 2) Use. ... - SIO in the New Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
particle obsolete Usage as an index word; This … - SE in the New Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by Efremova:
particle obsolete Same as:... - SIO in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
this, this, ... - SE in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
se... - -THAT in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
- THAT in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
That, … - SIO in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
this, this,... - SE in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
se... - THAT in the Spelling Dictionary:
That, … - SIO in the Spelling Dictionary:
this, this, ... - SE in the Spelling Dictionary:
se... - -THAT in the Spelling Dictionary:
-to, particle - with the preceding word is written with a hyphen: for some reason, somewhere, for some reason, for me and ...
Phraseologism “neither this nor that” - about joyless mediocrity and dull dullness.
Unfortunately, there are such people, books, films, days...
Let's look at the meaning and origin, synonyms and antonyms, as well as sentences with phraseological units from the works of writers.
The meaning of phraseology
Neither this nor that - someone (or something) mediocre, inexpressive, unremarkable
Phraseologisms-synonyms: neither fish nor fowl; neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan; the middle into half; neither a candle to God nor a damn poker; neither two nor one and a half; neither peahen nor crow; neither sew nor fasten; quieter than water, lower than the grass
Phraseologisms-antonyms: what you need, no matter where
In foreign languages there are expressions with similar meanings. Among them:
- neither fish nor flesh (English)
- il n"est bon ni à rôtir, ni à bouillir (French)
- weder Fisch noch Fleisch (German)
Origin of phraseology
In general, this phraseological unit is one of those “already understandable”: “neither this nor that” means “neither this nor that,” i.e. something indefinite, intermediate.
However, one can come across the statement that this expression was formed from the proverb “neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan,” but over time, Bogdan and Selifan disappeared somewhere, and what remained was a formal neither this nor that.
Sentences with phraseological units from the works of writers
God alone could have said what Manilov’s character was. There is a kind of people known by the name: so-so people, neither this nor that. (N.V. Gogol, “Dead Souls”)
- Well, did he agree or not? “That’s the point, it’s neither this nor that,” said Vronsky. (L.N. Tolstoy, “Anna Karenina”)
The ensign, although a small rank, although neither this nor that, is still a servant of the fatherland, an officer... shed blood... Why should he be abolished? (A.P. Chekhov, “Abolished!”)
Once upon a time there were two frogs. They were friends and lived in the same ditch. But only one of them was a real forest frog - brave, strong, cheerful, and the other was neither this nor that: she was a coward, a lazy woman, a sleepyhead. (L. Panteleev, “Two Frogs”)
And his daughter was, in general, an uninteresting creature, such a young lady, neither this nor that. Well, in general he walks, sits, talks and eats, but he has no inclination towards poetry and cannot play the piano. (M.M. Zoshchenko, “Blue Book”)
This is how the phraseological unit “neither this nor that” appeared in this article. Nothing particularly outstanding. Perhaps from his own characteristics saved by a good selection examples from the works of writers.
