What does the expression “all over Ivanovskaya” mean?
“Why are you shouting ‘во всю Ивановскую’ (‘vo vsyu Ivanovskuyou’) or ‘all over Ivanovskaya?’” This question can be asked to a person who is speaking too loudly. And the origin of this expression comes from… the Moscow Kremlin!
There are several versions of its origin. In the 16th and 17th centuries, all new decrees signed by the tsar were announced on Ivanovskaya Square in the Kremlin. And, so that even those standing very far away could hear them, they were read as loudly as possible. That is, at the top of their lungs or “all over Ivanovskaya Square”. This is how the expression appeared.
In Anton Chekhov’s story ‘Live Goods’, one of the characters tells a joke very loudly: “Ivan Petrovich, laughing out loud, told them a joke about Armenian life, told it ‘all over Ivanovskaya’, so that all the dachas could hear it.”
According to another version, those who were beaten with batons as punishment for taking bribes shouted “all over Ivanovskaya”. The offender had to shout: “Guilty!” This way he confirmed that he was sincerely repenting. And the sooner the punishment would stop.
Sometimes, people also say “ring all over Ivanovskaya”. After all, the bell tower of Ivan the Great is also on Ivanovskaya Square.
Over time, the expression began to be used not only to describe a voice that is too loud. But also generally about something excessive. For example, about a person who snores loudly or someone who wants to go as fast as possible. The hero of Nikolai Gogol’s story ‘The Nose’ urged the cab driver: “Run all over Ivanovskaya!”
