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Break Priscian’s head the personification of the original sin of murder. The mark/ curse/brand of Cain, though placed on him by God to protect him and warn others that killing Cain would provoke the vengeance of God (Genesis 4:5), is now used to mean an identifying stigma. Break Priscian’s head – ломать голову; (редк.) нарушать правила грамматики Write or speak false grammar. Priscian was a famous Latin grammarian, who flourished at Constantinople in the year 500; the author of “Grammatical Commentaries” in 18 books, a standard work during the Middle Ages, and in universal use at that time. The grammar is divided into eighteen books, of which the first sixteen deal mainly with sounds, word-formation and inflexions; the last two deal with syntax. He was so devoted to his favorite study that to speak false Latin in his company was as disagreeable to him as to break his head. Brother Jonathan – (пренебр.) янки, американец; (собир.) янки (об американской нации) A fictional character created to personify the entire United States, in the early days of the country’s existence. Brother Jonathan was usually depicted as a typical American revolutionary, with tri-cornered hat and long military jacket. A popular folk tale about the origin of the term holds that the character derives from Jonathan Trumbull (1710– 1785), Governor of Connecticut. It is said that George Washington often uttered the words: We must consult Brother Jonathan when faced with a difficult question; however, that origin is doubtful, as neither man made reference to the story during their lifetimes. The character was adopted by Americans from 1783 to 1815. During the War of 1812, the term Uncle Sam appeared. Soon the increasingly popular Uncle Sam (see p. 168) replaced Brother Jonathan. Indeed, this character can be seen as an intermediate step between Yankee Doodle and Uncle Sam as a representation of the everyday American. However, 30