What does the expression «gray mare's ravings» mean?
If someone's speech is called “бред сивой кобылы” (“bred sivoy kobyly”) or "gray mare's ravings", it means that the person is talking nonsense. But, what does a gray horse have to do with it?
Let's look at it in order. Firstly, in the old days, ‘ravings’ meant aimless walking, that is, when a person wandered back and forth without any meaning. Secondly, horses with blue-gray colored manes – gray with dark shimmers – look gray-haired. So, it turns out that, when people talk about gray mare’s ravings, they mean the meaningless wandering of an old horse. And in a figurative sense – meaningless tales, the chatter of old people. An English equivalent would be: “That’s hogwash!”
The expression “врёт, как сивый мерин” (“vryet, kak sivy merin”) or "lies like a gray gelding" has a similar meaning. In the old days, gray horses were traditionally considered stupid and unfit for farming. Therefore, over time, another meaning appeared – the tales of a stupid person.
