Horseradish with radish is no sweeter. A familiar phrase? It's often said when there's no choice: both options are bad, there's no difference. But where did this strange comparison come from? Why have root vegetables become symbols of hopelessness? And what history is hidden behind this garden metaphor? Let's dig, like real etymologists.

Botany of the dispute: why horseradish and radish in particular

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 fiery to tears, radish is bitter and pungent. They were added to different dishes: horseradish to meat, potted meat, radish to okroshka and salads. Imagine: you are offered a choice between rye bread with horseradish or rye bread with radish. Both bite. Both get up the nose. That's the saying: horseradish and radish are equally bad when the soul craves sweetness.

First meaning: neither this nor that, both are bad

The classic meaning of the phrase is a choice between two undesirable things. Example: "Will you go on a business trip to Vorkuta or Norilsk?" — "Dammit, both options are a sentence." Or in a dispute about candidates: "Ivanov is a thief, Petrov is a briber." — "Dammit, there's no one to vote for." But there's 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, there's no difference."

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 a detective and quotes from advertisements in your essay. It turned out to be horseradish with radish." Or in a conversation: "He told me such a story — horseradish with radish, neither true nor false, just some okroshka." This meaning is almost like "vinaigrette," but with a hint of irritation: vinaigrette is edible, but horseradish with radish is not.

Where do the roots of the phrase come from: in the garden or in the tavern?

There is a version that the phrase originated in tavern culture. In old drinking establishments, they served appetizers: horseradish with vinegar and radish with kvass. If a guest ordered "something to eat," and there was no food available, they were offered that very pair. From there, the irony was born: a choice as between horseradish and radish. But linguists doubt it: the phrase is not in written sources from the 18th century. However, it is already in Dal's dictionary (1860s). Dal says: "Horseradish is not sweeter than radish, and the devil is not easier than his reputation." That is, by then the saying had already become a classic.

Live examples from literature and cinema

Chехov's carriage driver Ion says in his story "Boredom": "Horseradish with radish — all the same." He's talking about his grief, about his son, about the indifference of the passengers. In Ilyf and Petrov's "The Golden Calf," characters curse the choice of apartments: "Horseradish with radish, both huts." And in the Soviet film "Love and Pigeons," the grandmother sighs: "Marry Vasiliy or Petro? Horseradish with radish — both drink." The phrase is enduring. It has survived tsarism, the Soviet era, and the nineties. Because the situation of an impossible choice has not disappeared.

Comparison with other languages

The English will say: "Six of one, half a dozen of the other." The Germans: "Das ist gehüpft wie gesprungen" (this is as if it jumped or hopped). The French: "Bonnet blanc et blanc bonnet" (white hat and white hat). No one has this garden aggression. But the Russians do. Horseradish and radish are not just neutral objects. They have a character: sharp, pungent, they can make you cry accidentally. So the phrase carries not only the meaning of "nothing good," but also a slight irritation: "You've put me in front of this stupid choice again."

How not to confuse with similar sayings

There is "horseradish and radish are not sweeter" — it's the same phrase, just rearranged. There is "a puff is enough" — about ease. "Fug with it" — about disregard. And "horseradish with radish" — specifically about comparing two evils. Don't confuse it with "the devil is not as scary as they say." There's another meaning there: apparent danger and real. Ours are both really bad. A domestic example: you need to go to your dacha through a traffic jam on the MKAD or through a broken bridge. Horseradish with radish. Three hours in traffic, two hours on the bridge with the risk of getting stuck. Choose any.

Why the phrase doesn't die

Ask yourself: when was the last time you heard "horseradish with radish"? Maybe yesterday. The phrase is enduring because it has energy. It's rough (thank you for the word "horseradish," which is always on the verge of cursing). It's concrete (the image of two root vegetables is etched into memory). It's emotional (a slight rage from hopelessness). And it's our own, familiar, kitchen language, not like the English "half dozens." As long as Russian people stand before a choice between two bad options, "horseradish with radish" will be with us.

As you have understood, the phrase is not about vegetables. It's about life. When at work they offer two dismissals to choose from. When in love — two betrayers. When in elections — two populists. Horseradish with radish, my dear. Choose what's sharper, or what's hotter? Ah, yes — equally. That's all the saying. But we said it, and it felt a little better. Because our language found words for hopelessness, and from this hopelessness became almost familiar.

Permanent link to this publication: