Proverbs differ from proverbs in the first place, because there are much more situations for their application. Take, for example, the well-known expression "a mosquito will not undermine the nose." Its meaning can range from "no one will know" to "everything will be fine". Proverbs, on the other hand, necessarily contain a conclusion, and sayings can be used “by the way” and be ambiguous. So, in what cases is it appropriate to use the statement “the less you know, the better you sleep”, and what is meant by this?
What prevents you from sleeping peacefully?
This expression is completely in vain called a proverb, because not a single sane person will accept the words “the less you know, the better you sleep” for direct action. Otherwise, he would have had to give up any knowledge for the sake of he althy sleep. But after all, the multiplication table or the rules of the Russian language are unlikely to bring anyone to insomnia. So what kind of knowledge that interferes with night rest is said in the proverb? To do this, you need to turn to sensible
dictionaries and looklexical meaning of the word "know". It seems to everyone so elementary that it never occurs to anyone that there may be some kind of misunderstanding in connection with it. And still. For example, in the dictionary of the 18th century, “to know” had eight meanings, the main of which was the presence of information, news about something. In modern Russian, in the dictionary of Efremova, the verb “know” has five meanings, the first of which means knowledge, the second is awareness, the third is acquaintance with someone, the fourth is experience, the fifth meaning (figurative) is used in the sense of guessing. So now it’s easy to conclude that the saying “the less you know, the better you sleep” does not call to remain ignoramuses, and it doesn’t talk about scientific knowledge at all, although one of the options for using this expression in its literal sense, but with a touch of irony, still exists. This will be the case if suddenly in the lesson one of the students, who, moreover, does not study well, falls asleep. It is in this situation that in the expression “the less you know, the better you sleep,” the verb “know” will be used in the sense of “possess certain knowledge and skills.”
A dream that is not a dream
Is this proverb always talking about sound sleep? A person's sleep is disturbed with increased anxiety. And all sorts of guesses, experiences and information lead to it, which lead to suspicion and reflection, even knowing someone can be “dangerous” for sleep. But is this proverb always talking about sleep in the literal sense? When a woman buys an expensive handbag, when asked by a friend abouthow her husband will react to this waste, she replies: “The less he knows, the more he sleeps.” With this phrase, the lady immediately makes it clear that she will not say anything to her husband. In this case, the saying has a slightly different meaning: the desire to hide some information from a person so that he does not ask unnecessary questions, there is also a clear desire to make a decision on her own, without consulting anyone. But when the seller, changing the expiration date sticker on the cottage cheese packaging, says: “The less you know, the better you sleep,” then he, at a minimum, goes for forgery, as a result of which, if not a disaster, then a big nuisance. So it is quite possible to assume that someone with this saying even commits a crime.
