Ferum et raphanus non dulcius. Familiar phrase? Often said when there is no choice: both options are bad, there is no difference. But where did this strange comparison come from? Why have root vegetables become symbols of hopelessness? And what history lies behind this garden metaphor? Let's dig, like professional etymologists. Botany of the dispute: why exactly horseradish and radish At first glance, horseradish and radish are relatives. Both from the cabbage family, both spicy, root vegetables, both winter, spicy. Not sugar, for sure. But that's the catch: the Russian peasant of the 19th century knew the difference well. Horseradish is so spicy it makes you cry, radish is bitter and pungent. They were put in different dishes: horseradish with meat, jelly, radish with okroshka and salads. Imagine: you are offered a choice between rye bread with horseradish or rye bread with radish. Both bite. Both get into your nose. That's the saying: horseradish and radish are equally bad when the soul craves something sweet. The first meaning: neither this nor that, both are bad The classic meaning of the phrase is a choice between two equally undesirable things. Example: "Will you go on a business trip to Vorkuta or Norilsk?" - "Hren s rafanom, both options are a sentence." Or in a debate about candidates: "Ivanov is a thief, Petrov is a bribe-taker." - "Hren s rafanom, no one to vote for." But there is a nuance: sometimes this phrase is said not about bad, but about indistinguishable. As in the joke: "What's the difference between horseradish and radish?" - "If you don't know, it's the same." The second meaning: confusion and nonsense Another layer of meaning is the mixing of the unmixable. "Mixed horseradish with radish" means chaos, mixing concepts, facts, things. For example, a teacher says: "You mixed Dostoevsky with detective novels and quotes from advertisements in your essay. It turned out to be horseradish and radish." Or in a conversation: "He told me suc ... Read more