We all once heard the expression "I found a scythe on a stone." Those who have never held this agricultural tool in their hands do not know that the subtlety of its use lies in sharpening and beating. Not everyone can competently and correctly produce them; a skill is required. First, they knock on the canvas with a hammer so that small notches appear, which are then sharpened with a bar. Then the scythe turns sharp, cuts the grass like a razor blade. But you need to beat carefully so that there are no dents, which you can’t get rid of later. So the work is delicate.
The work of a mower is sweeping, you should not strain too much, otherwise you will quickly get tired, but you need to act energetically. And suddenly - bam! - found a scythe on a stone. After hitting a hard object, the tool breaks down, sometimes editing is necessary, and often irreversible damage occurs.
This happens not only during field work. A person will sharpen up to do something, but suddenly an unexpected obstacle arises. The consequences of ill-conceived habitual and routine actions lead to the most deplorable results. Where resistance was not expected, it was suddenly provided, and quite effectively.
There are many examples. Here is a rude boss, who is habitually rude to his subordinates, who are forced to endure his tyranny, suddenly gets back, and from some newcomer who works for a week without a year. He is furious, wants to inflict cruel reprisal on the recalcitrant, but suddenly it turns out that the top management has its own views on the recently hired employee and stands up for him. There are whispers in the team - "I found a scythe on a stone." The meaning of this expression is symbolic, two material objects - merciless and sharp steel, never tested by such loads, and the solid, also in its own way ruthless essence of stone, which does not care about collisions with iron. This actually expresses the essence of the personality conflict.
Or here's another example, this time from politics and history. Acting brazenly and decisively, Adolf Hitler captured most of Europe, using the same technique - swift maneuver and coverage of his opponents' troops with mobile motorized tank formations. As long as relatively small countries with weak economic potential and limited resources were attacked, everything went like clockwork. But the Fuhrer decided to attack the USSR. At first, the usual strategy gave results, but then it found a scythe on a stone, the Union turned out to be stronger than expected, and it turned out that things in Germany were not very good, one might say, even bad. Everyone knows how it ended.
So, the meaning of the idiom is generally clear. What the scythe most often symbolizesaggression, and the stone is a rebuff, is explained by its figurative meaning, in real life the “Lithuanian” is rather a useful tool, and the boulder is a harmful hindrance. There may be some contradiction in this. Therefore, the expression "scythe on a stone" is also used in cases where both conflicting parties are wrong. An example is a mother-in-law, who is used to commanding in the house, is faced with a son-in-law who does not want to concede in anything and demonstrates his independence by contradicting her in everything, even when one could agree. There are many anecdotes on this topic … By the way, a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law also have such relationships.
In any case, when they say that they found a scythe on a stone, they mean a conflict caused by the lack of flexibility of the opponents and their unwillingness to make mutual concessions. Let's be softer and kinder!
