What is the meaning of the expression ‘Otkladyvat v dolgiy yashik’ (‘to put something in a long box’
"In order not to put it in a long box and not to repeat myself, I will give the reader a picture of the murder..." What did the character in Chekhov's ‘Drama on the Hunt’ mean? What is a long box and what should not be put there? Let's talk about everything in order!
According to one version, the roots of this expression go back to ancient times, to the days of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. In front of his palace in Kolomenskoye stood a long box, in which any person could put his or her complaint.
There were many people willing to do so, but these notes were considered slowly. First, boyars waited until the box was filled, then they began to study the petitions. Not surprisingly, some of them remained unanswered. While waiting for a decision, people would often forget what they were complaining about.
The box was dealt with, but why is it long and not lengthy? Well, the words ‘long’ and ‘lengthy’ are, of course, synonyms.
There is another version, according to which the expression "to put in a long box" appeared in the middle of the 18th century. And it came to the Russian language from German. But, we will also be talking about furniture: in German courts, cases were put in long bench boxes. The complaints of those who were poorer were considered last, sending them to a... long box. So, perhaps, the expression migrated into the Russian language together with the habit of postponing everything insignificant for later.
That's how the expression came to be, which means "to put something off for an indefinite period of time".
