The article gives an overview of Ukrainian phraseological units with the component сало ("fat, lard"). As is known, it deeply entered the Ukrainian material culture and has become one of the most cult and recognizable ethnic symbols of Ukraine. Th e article analyzes represented material: on the base of Ukrainian stable comparisons it is shown how this image lives in the Ukrainian language, in particular - in phraseology and paremiology. And a few examples of complete analogs, found in Russian and cited in this article, demonstrate the diff erence in its perception in the mentality of two closely related peoples.