Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]

A little off topic but have any of you that live in British Isles tried Okells Bitter? It's brewed in Douglas, Isle of Man and is available in some towns in England. I thought it had a great flavor. Alcohol is 3.7%. Another brew from the same town is Bushy's but I did not try it.

Life / Poland, maybe the world's last bastion of faith [67]

You have composed a nice little thesis for a college course on 'Moral Behavior' but...sadly, no such course is taught. I grew up in Ohio during WWII when there was rationing of staple foods and gasoline, a halt in construction and auto manufacturing. The main concern then was whose sons that got drafted into the army or navy would return home someday, and whose sons would die fighting for freedom. After each Sunday Mass the priest knelt down before the altar and we all said a prayer for "our boys overseas". During those years we walked through a vale of tears.[i]

The war ended in 1945 and we had five years of peace. Also, that was also end of the Great Depression. But then 1950 we went to war again in Korea. The fighting stopped in 1953 with a cease-fire but not a surrender. In the 1960s, we sent troops to Vietnam. Many were killed on both sides and we pulled out and let the Commies take over. Thus, it seems that when the American public is concerned about war or the threat of enemy attack, they tend to be more vigilant and keep there moral standards high. Sixty years ago men would wear a clean white shirt to Mass and women covered wore a hat or a mantilla. My mom never wore slacks or shorts at all. She felt that pants are for men and boys. We walked to church, school, grocery store, etc. because my parents never had a car. Today you can wear anything you want to Mass and nothing is said to you. Want to wear shorts and flip-flops on your feet? No problem.

Today, there is too much emphasis placed upon money and self-gratification. This mind-set is constantly energized by the plethora of commercials on radio and TV. They say you should never live in pain, you should never be unattractive, you should never be alone on Friday night, and that every hunger and want should be fulfilled. Ultimately, it espouses that every pleasure we yearn for can be tasted, and unless this happens, we cannot be happy. Because of this, we over-expect.

Five years ago we had a house guest from Poland who came to the US to give a doctoral dissertation in Atlanta and New York City. He mentioned that the Poles attend church regularly because they are told to do so. But the Poles are contemptuous toward their neighbors. He gave this example: If you saw your Polish neighbor in the backyard and greeted him like "Good Morning, how are you today"? The neighbor would reply " Hmm, I suppose you want me to do you a favor"!

Regarding Muslims that came to live in the USA, may I relate events that occurred a couple years ago in Ohio at a nearby business (carpet and floor covering store) that was in a strip mall along with four other businesses. Well, for years things were fine. Eventually, a little carry-out store opened up right next door. Like most of those, it is run by Muslims and many of their patrons are Muslims. Now the floor covering store had many 12 X 24-inch samples of carpeting on a table near the front door. As time went by, the owner noticed that samples are gradually disappearing. So they put a surveillance camera up high. Soon he learned what was going on. Muslims were coming in, stealing carpet samples and running away. They were using them for prayer rugs. Eventually the floor covering store moved to a different location and so far, nothing has been swiped.

History / When will you Poles give back German land and the cities which you robbed? [557]

I thought the 1945 borders of Poland were changed by agreement of the "Big Three" (Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt) at the Crimean Conference in Yalta. As to the question if it was prudent or not, it's been a matter of conjecture ever since. Even some things in America seem unjustifialble but as one lawyer stated "That's the way it is".

Travel / Which cities in Poland are nice to visit [80]

The travel agents all agree that Kraków has the most tourism. I liked it but would like to return to three well-preserved Medieval towns- Toruń, Chełmno, and Żnin, all of which are in woj. Kujawsko-Pomorskie.

Love / Any English guys give me advice please. Are Polish women very different to English women? [46]

There's an old saying "Man has his will- but woman has her way".

Travel / Poland in photo riddles [3134]

Hot day....cool off the feet.

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


I thought browar= brewery and piwo=beer.

Life / How to Politely Refuse a Drink in Poland [72]

Tell them you're a student at Moravian College and you are not allowed to smoke or drink.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

A common name here in Toledo is Napierała. What is the origin?

Language / déjà vu in Polish [23]

When my mom was still living she would use the word 'wej' as an interjection in English, usually as a response to a 'dumb' question like "Mom, why is busia's hair white"? She would answer "Wej, because busia is very old".

I'm not sure if that is a Polish word or a loan word from another language. What say you?

History / Why did Hitler kill so many Jews in Poland? [261]

Not only the Jews were rounded up and herded into camps, but also Gypsies, homosexuals, clerics, and college professors. During WWII Hitler had some German officers executed for failing at a campaign (as with Gen. Ervin Rommel), or also for plotting to assasinate him.

Love / What do Polish guys think of Irish girls? [187]

What you call "Irish accent" is known as brogue. I think it sounds classy and unique.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

Quiet, calm, silence = cisza, but another idea...there's a Polish village named Ciszewo located about 15 km east of the town of Grajewo.

Travel / Best places to visit in Poland [87]


I believe the English name for the Wisła is Vistula.

Language / How to say Merry Christmas in Polish? [66]

If any of you want to know the words of any of the old Polish carols, just post it on this site. I have words and notation for fifty-two kolędy (carols) in a songbook "Śpiewniczek" that was published in Warsaw in 1901.

Life / Weird names Polish parents give to their kids [42]

I the name Władysława still given to girls in Poland? In the U.S. many women with that name have changed it to Lottie.

News / Polish cities outside of Poland [8]

Toledo, Ohio has many residents of Polish descent. About 40 years ago there were several Polish Catholic parishes in Toledo; St. Hedwig, St. Adalbert, St. Vincent dePaul, St. Anthony, St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. Hyacinth, Nativity of Jesus, Our Lady of Lourdes. At present, only St. Adalbert and St. Hyacinth Churches are still Active. St. Hedwig has been relegated to an Oratory.

Here are some of the more predominant Polish surnames in metro Toledo:
Kujawa, Wiśniewski, Lewandowski, Kowalski, Nowak, Nowakowski, Nowacki, Nowicki, Andrzejewski, Michalski, Michalak, Czajka, Tucholski, Szymański, Szymanowski, Szyperski, Robakowski, Czarnecki, Machciński, Kubicki, Kubacki, Kozłowski, Wojciechowski, Wawrzyniak, Janowiecki, Zieliński, Jagodziński, Gąsiorowski, Jasiński, Kwiatkowski, Mierzwiak, Sieja, Królak, Katafiasz, Nadolny, Adamski, Kukla, Spychalski, Tafelski, Sujkowski, Rejent, Rosiński, £abudziński, Urbański, Kociński, Kłociński, Szczechowiak, Ignasiak, Kamiński, Szczewczykowski, Iwiński, Domagała, Holewiński, Tomaszewski, Zając, Sobczak, Pietrykowski, Przybyła, Rojek, Kaczmarek, Zalewski, Sobota, Kucharski, Drzewiecki. Well, the list goes on and on.

The little "ma & pa" grocery stores and bakeries have mostly disappeared. Same thing with the little independent hardware stores.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

What is the meaning of the surname Napierała?

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

Dziękuje.

Language / Polish sayings [236]

I think "z deszczu pod rynne" means "rain into the gutter".

"Out of the frying pan into the fire would be "Z patelni w ogień".

Food / Cooking Polish kiszka [99]

Lots of good suggestions for kiszka (barley sausage). It reminded me of a song sung by the leader of a Chicago polka band about 50 years ago; his name was Frank Wojnarowski and the song was entitled 'Who Stole the Kiszka'.

Language / Need some Polish language help.....with a twist! [39]

Polish language is case-sensitive (there are 7 cases) Try to get a concept of declension of nouns, congugation of verbs, gender specific adjectives, action complete or incomplete.

Buy 'Langenscheidt Pocket Dictionary - Polish'*. The first ten pages are a must read. Another good book is '301 Polish Verbs'** by Klara Janecki - published by Barron's Educational Series, Inc.

*ISBN 978-1-58573-415-3 (English edition)
** ISBN 0-7641-1020-9

Najlepszego
(Good luck)

Language / 'lubię, lubisz' - Infinitive [86]

On #3 of the second group perhaps you meant piątki (Fridays) and klubie (club).

W piątki zawsze spotykamy do zapoznanie się w klubie.

Language / -ski/-ska, -scy/ski, -wicz - Polish surnames help [185]

Some Polish surnames have only one syllable, like Gzik, Prus, Dzik, Mruk. Kott.

Language / Use of A/An/The ...... Articles [186]

If some one asked you if you have any pets, you reply "Yes, I have a cat".
If some one else asked you how many cats you have, you reply "I have one cat". or, "I have one".

Language / What's the time? Numbers in Polish. [14]


po dziewiątej po dziesiątej.

Language / Dwa vs. dwie in Polish [85]

The news media uses the infinitive [die] when it really means they just died (past tense).
Once you use the person had died and others will miss them, you use the verb 'umiera' (singular) umierają (plural).
When writing the year of a person's death you use the verb 'zmarł (male) zmarła (female). np: Szopen zmarł w 1849 roku. (Chopin died in 1849).

Language / Words difference - 'ale' and 'przecież' [16]


It's better to say Asia has bought a dog but she doesn't have.... [past perfect tense]

Language / "do I" usage in a question? [50]


[hold that] = Czy muszę trzymać tego?
[know you] = Czy my się znamy?
[go this way] = Czy muszę iść tą drogą?