Language / Polish slang phrases - most popular. [606]


nobody claims otherwise :)


Urwało mi dupę.
Expression of delight. About the same level as the song.

Language / Polish slang phrases - most popular. [606]


o jejku kochany - it's an euphemism for "o Jezu kochany" - "oh, dear Jesus"

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


A vendetta, really? It's just what I was feeling/thinking when reading Wedle's posts. As for you, I am aware that you're the author of this thread but first, you've already explained a few times that it's an old thread, and second, I've been reading your posts for a couple of years now and I know that you're sort of blowing hot and cold. I think I've got used to it.


A revenge? Self-gratification? Personal attack? No, WB, none of this. I'd even say it's just the opposite.
Yes, we have corruption in Poland, the football association being the latest example. I'm not going to deny it, but that's not the point. If people in this thread were just discussing examples of corruption and dishonesty, I couldn't care less and probably wouldn't even bother to join. The reason I did is something else. It's the self-righteous, patronising attitude that comes up again and again in various threads, no matter what the subject of the discussion, be it corruption, WWII or Polish grocery shops. It's too tiresome. And it's exactly this type of attitude that I have issues with, not the subject of this, or any other, thread.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


Yeah, I'm sure she does.


So you are on a mission. Well, good luck then.

Life / Poles - the Nation of Liars? [478]


Wedle, are you a preacher by occupation? It seems that you feel you are on some mission here.
You're one of the posters here (there are a few) who always remind me of my mother-in-law. Whenever she comes to visit, I get plenty of good advice and useful comments. She knows best what I need and what I don't need, what I should buy, where and for how much, what colour I should paint my walls, what hours I should work and what time to have dinner. She simply knows it all and she's always ready to point out any faults and imperfections. Of course, she's doing it for my own good.

Need I add that I've never asked her for advice and that every time she opens her mouth I feel like pushing her out of my window?

And it really doesn't matter that she might sometimes be right and that I've thought of throwing away this old armchair myself. She's deeply convinced that I'd never do anything right without her enlightened guidance.

Yes. It's both condescending and patronizing. And highly infuriating.
So don't be surprised that you get the sort of reaction you do. It's really not about the size of corruption in Poland or elsewhere. It's about your attitude.

I'm sure if you came here and told us a story of how you've been cheated or lied to, you'd get a lot of compassion, understanding and practical advice. But you won't get any of it coming to the forum as the sole righteous man in the whole country, whose moral duty is to point out all the filth in our everyday life. You haven't been hired as an Anderson consultant so let the Poles take care of it themselves.

Food / British food products in Poland? [334]


Good tea doesn't come in bags. Have you tried tea shops?

Food / Polish polskie pierogi recipe (prepared at home) [72]


there are many variations and many names too. basically, you can put inside anything you find in the fridge, it's one of those dishes. gulasz is fine, also any kind of meat fried with vegetables, or just vegetables. it's sometimes called placek po zbójnicku too.

the sour cream and beetroot thing reminds me of a salad I first had in Russia. just grate a raw beetroot and pour good, thick sour cream over it. you may add salt and pepper too, or crushed walnuts. very simple and fantastic taste.

Food / Polish polskie pierogi recipe (prepared at home) [72]


maybe. just maybe.


I believe po bieszczadzku is the same as po węgiersku, meaning with meat and vegetables. If so, sugar doesn't seem appropriate, although Mariusz could be of a different opinion.

But next time when you have plain ordinary placki, do the dangerous thing and try one with just sugar, you might like it :)

Food / Polish polskie pierogi recipe (prepared at home) [72]

Me. I don't even touch the stuff.

Food / Polish polskie pierogi recipe (prepared at home) [72]


It's usual to eat the sweet kinds of pierogi (sweet cheese or fruit) with sour cream and sugar, but I've never seen anybody eat so the meat or cabbage and mushroom variety, must be the guy's unique taste. People do strange things sometimes but this one would get strange looks in Poland too.

On the other hand, there's the eternal controversy on how placki ziemniaczane (potato pancakes) should be eaten properly. There's the sugar (or cream and sugar) school and no sugar, just sour cream school. This is more of a regional thing. I eat them with sugar. Some people even use ketchup - the horror!

Or mizeria (fresh cucumber salad) - with or without sugar. I'm fighting home war on this one.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1040]

Powiedziałam byłemu, że mam ochotę go zabić, a on odpowiedział, że potrzebuję pomocy profesjonalisty, więc wynajęłam snajpera.

(this is a woman speaking)

Life / Gifts from Poland (I'm returning to my country after a year in Poland) [36]

aren't the dogs trained not to touch the tourists' kiełbasa?

Life / Polish movies with English subtitles [87]


Good for you. Not worth the time. No Stenka either. Grażyna Whatshername... just awful.

Life / Babcia or Busha - any social class difference? [359]


Sorry but I can't understand you, could you please rephrase this sentence?


actually it's not but English has no sound for the Polish ź or zi and it's quite possible that to an American ear it might sound similarly to ś or si.

Bozia is sort of diminutive of Bóg - God, still used sometimes by older village women or when talking to children.

Life / Babcia or Busha - any social class difference? [359]


that's Bozia, another word

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Gleba means soil. Glebowski is a feasible derivative.

Language / Why is the Polish language so difficult? [309]


ivona.com


It's not enough to tell them. You need to teach them how to produce the sound.

Language / Why is the Polish language so difficult? [309]


I'm not sure if it's true but I've heard that Israeli pilots were using Polish as a code language during the Israeli-Egypt 7-day-war. Sounds probable as many, if not most, people in Israel at that time could speak Polish. The Arabs, on the other hand, could not understand a word and that was one of the main reasons they later started sending students to Poland on government grants.

Language / Indirect/direct speech in English and Polish. [4]

Indirect speech is relating sb's words. Direct speech is quoting them.

In English:
He said: 'I don't speak Polish.' - direct speech
He said he didn't speak Polish. - indirect speech

- don't changes to didn't - "he said" is in the past tense, so the content of what he said cannot be expressed in the present tense. You need to pull it back, so to say, and keep the whole sentence in the past.

In Polish you don't do it - you don't change the tense of the quoted words.
On powiedział: "Nie mówię po polsku".
On powiedział, że nie mówi po polsku.

- no change of tense.

Another example:
He said: 'I will do it'.
He said he would do it.

On powiedział: "Ja to zrobię."
On powiedział, że to zrobi.

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [183]

SINGULAR OR PLURAL
copied from the article thread

which one is better:
the initial sound in show and strength is not the same
or
the initial sounds in show and strength are not the same?

I mean, there are two words, show and strength, and each of them has its own initial sound, so logically there are two initial sounds. However, they may be identical or different.

I always get confused with sentences like this one.

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [183]


conditionale to gdybanie

1. jeśli coś tam, to coś tam - dotyczy przyszłości - if it rains, we'll stay at home
2. gdyby babcia miała kółka, to by był rower - alternatywna teraźniejszość - if I were a Rockefeller I would buy myself a Greek island

3. placz za rozlanym mlekiem - co by było, gdyby było inaczej niż było - if you hadn't irritated the mods, you wouldn't have been banned yesterday

+ combinations of the above

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [183]


I mean I just haven't been familiar with this form, never heard/seen it before.

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [183]


I must say that's news for me, it wouldn't ever occur to me to say amn't I . Is it about the same level of (in)formality as ain't I?

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [183]


ain't I? seems to be the deal :)

Rozumiemnic, thanks for the confirmation :)

Antek: just go with Simple Past unless you have two sequential activities within one sentence and you need to use "before" or "after", then the earlier activity is in Past Perfect.

so: he recorded a song and then he left Poland
but: after he had recorded a song, he left Poland.
The word after makes all the difference.

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [183]

Seanus, I've copied the questions that you asked Proofreader in the other thread, as you've got me puzzled.

When forming tail/tag questions, you should use a comma before the tail. I am not...., am I not? (or aren't I?)
I believe you should use a comma but I'm not sure which of these: am I not? (or aren't I?) is correct. Is "am I not" correct and "aren't I" used colloquially?

Why pennyworth and not penny's worth?
a good one :) a penny's worth is the original phrase and pennyworth a sort of a fixed derivative so "a penny's worth" is just that, meaning literally the worth of a 1 p coin, while "pennyworth" means "worth very little,next to nothing, almost worthless, cheap" - do I get it right?

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1400]


It could matter with this particular specie, but this is what they write about Maitake - Hen of the woods:
"Will grow on a wide range of hardwood logs & stumps and some conifers: oak, elm, maple, sycamore, beech, plum, peach, hemlock, and many others."

So it's probably worth a try. Just keep the log moist.
And most mushrooms like it warm. Some need to grow in a dark place though, so the pantry might be a good idea. Just check the descriptions and I'm sure you'll find something that would be worth trying out.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1400]


I don't know, it says they may be hard to cultivate.
But the blue ones look cool and they're supposed to be easier.

Anyway, if you succeed to grow anything, post a photo :)

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1400]


Do cats eat mushrooms? I know they like some pot plants, but fungi? Interesting.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1400]

I like the idea of growing them in black garbage bags :)

Looks like you can get many different kinds of mushrooms to grow at home.
gmushrooms.com/pots

Still, there's nothing like the forest mushrooms :)

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1400]


pieczarki. Portobello are pieczarki too.

Boczniak is Oyster mushroom.

It says here you can even grow it in bottles.

pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ul207.pdf