What does the expression «neither dream nor spirit» mean?
This expression has biblical origins. In the Old Testament, prophets and sages learned the future in dreams (like Abraham heard the voice of God) or from the spirit.
If someone said they “ни сном ни духом” (“ni snom, ni dukhom” or "neither dream nor spirit") about something, it was implied they knew absolutely nothing. Or to emphasize their lack of involvement in something.
"I threatened… Also out of frustration… Some striped fool and – bam! – her child died. So, neither dream nor spirit was my fault, but they almost killed me, the damned things," one of the heroines of Alexander Kuprin's story ‘Olesya’, who is thought of a witch, complains to the protagonist.
