Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation

Don't think I'm right, but is it something along the lines of ' to know each other inside out'? To know everything about each other? Although I can't think why horses in particular.

Yes, good guess. Horses because Poles have always liked horses - winged hussars, Polish cavalry etc etc

Next -to sharpen one`s teeth for sth.

Would it be equivalent to 'gird one's loins' in English??

Only partly, it involves preparing yourself for sth indeed, but without the danger/difficulty context,

A hand washes a hand (btw, this could be an inresting exercise for the proper use of articles; what should be the most natural version in English: either 'the hand washes a hand' or 'a hand washes the hand' or 'the hand washes the hand' or 'the hand washes the other hand' or 'hand washes hand'?). In Polish we don't need an article in front of 'hand', so it was rather difficult for me to pick up the correct version. Can anyone comment?

At a guess I would say it means something along the lines of ' you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours '. Quid pro quo.


All of those sound unnatural to me as a native English speaker, not something I would say. Better would be ' one hand washes the other '.

Others might disagree though.

Did you fall from a christmas tree?

This one means to desire sth and get ready to accomplish it. Suggests long preparations. It can be about tasty food but also many other things.


Yes, A similar one is a raven won`t peck out another raven`s eye.

Not so similar to me. My first thought was ' two of a kind', that's why a raven won't peck out the eye of another, but I see this as being slightly different from ' a hand washes a hand', which I would interpret more as being something mutually beneficial to both parties.

I thought my "similar" sounded almost like "slightly different." :)

An easy one:to know sth like your own pocket.

Same as the English : to know something like the back of your hand :)

Next:

Did you fall from a christmas tree?

Throwing peas onto a wall

Thank you very much.



A modern (and truly vulgar) version of this is: Kurwa kurwie łba nie urwie (sorry, but I won't attempt to translate this into English).

That was a very good thinking of yours indeed, I wasn`t so precise, I just meant they are similar in the cooperation context.


The first is to go nuts, the other is wasting time and energy for nothing. Are there more idiomatic English versions?


This suits this thread too - a shot of vodka with a jelly snack/appetiser.

I haven't heard those definitions for either of those, maybe they can be interpreted in different ways?
"Did you fall from a Christmas tree", I've heard as meaning that someone isn't particularly well informed, not too smart, a bit tactless perhaps. I will have to think about the English version.

" Throwing peas onto a wall", I understand as trying to talk to or explain something to someone who isn't prepared to listen, so discussion is pointless. The closest English version would be something along the lines of " Falling on deaf ears ".


It does now I think about it!

According to pl.wiktionary.org/wiki/urwa%C4%87_si%C4%99_z_choinki, it means to display some strange unusual weird behaviour. In my understanding, one does sth stupid. First I thought of "freaking out," and then changed to "to go nuts."


Yes, of course, this is the full explanation, I was too succinct, as usual. :)

Interesting. Obviously there is more than one meaning.

No, it is still one meaning, but it applies both to sb saying sth stupid or doing sth stupid, so two situations are possible.

Today we were doing a chapter about culture and one exercise reminded me about this:

You xylophone!

Doesn't sound very cultural, but it's not a reference to someone who's a bit dumb or stupid is it? You'll probably laugh at my logic, but xylophones are made of mini planks of wood. In England if you call someone a plank you are basically saying they are stupid. We also have a phrase " as thick as two short planks ". It means the same thing.

Yes, exactly. Those English equivalents are also worth bearing in mind.

(do sth according to) Krakow deal

Unless it means something along the lines of, for example, playing a game ( doing sth ) according to a certain set of rules, then I have absolutely no idea!

I won`t say now, let`s wait, I can only offer a hint, it is mostly used when some negotiations (any kind) are involved.

Here`s an easier one:
To shoot a bull.

It's not easier :-(
My guesses:
To hit the centre of a target?
Chit chat, small talk etc?

Ok, I will relieve you. Krakow deal means to reach a compromise during negotiations - can be connected with trade or anything else what you try to settle with somebody..

To shoot a bull is to make a mistake but more slangish: eg., blow it, slip up (informal), cock up (British, slang), foul up, drop a clanger (informal), put your foot in it (informal), drop a brick (British, informal), screw up (informal). :)

Another one with Krakow: When sb is called Krakow cent (diminutive centling in the original) ), what does it mean?

Thanks for the explanations Pawian, I have never heard of either of them.
I'm probably going to do just as badly with the Krakow cent one. I can only think that it means that someone is either tight-fisted, stingy, or they are short?

Yes, perfect. Krakowians are stereotypically considered scrooges.

Now, two about fingers.

To look at sth through fingers.
Sth is trickling through fingers.

All that is suggesting to me is that the something being looked at is maybe unpleasant or a bit scary. So you take a peek at it through fingers instead of full-on looking at it directly, because you don't really want to see it at all.

Either that, or maybe it means to not get a clear picture of something?


Does it mean to not quite get a grasp of something? Maybe a missed chance or opportunity? Or money, if a person is bad with finances?

If it's that then it's similar to the English phrase 'to slip through your fingers'.
Or like sand/water slipping through fingers, you can grasp some of it if you cup hands together, but most of it will be lost.

This one will be too easy for you Pawian:

Put up a good face for a bad game

Yes, taking a peek instead of full look is a good explanation, but the reason is different - in this case you just don`t care and close an eye to sth wrong/stupid/slightly illegal etc.


Yes, correct. Used in the context of money, time, life and other things which humans deem important. ):


Pretend you are happy and don`t mind when they are hurting you. An informal version is: to talk about rain when they are spitting on you.

The English idiom for that interpretation would be ' to turn a blind eye', so the English and Polish meanings are somewhat different.


Or as the English would say, ' to grin and bear it '.

"Put up a good face for a bad game."

Almost a literal 'translation' of the German "Eine gute Miene zum boesen Spiel machen", with precisely the same meaning:-)
Merely another instance of where two languages track identically with the other, almost like a loan phrase translation, but not
quite a pure calque!

What about this one:

Here the penguin`s beak is bending - in its Polish version it is nicely rhymed.