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Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation


gumishu  15 | 6164
30 Jul 2019   #571
yes it is - jaja jak balony means a very hilarious situation
OP pawian  221 | 24946
30 Jul 2019   #572
Yes, hilarious though sb might think it refers to a long period of sexual abstinence. :)

to put a line on sth/sb.
Chemikiem
31 Jul 2019   #573
sb might think it refers to a long period of sexual abstinence. :)

Actually, that was my first thought which perfectly demonstrates where my mind is most of the time :)

To put a line on Sth/sb. Does it mean the same as to draw the line at something? A person or situation can go so far, but after that a line has been crossed?
OP pawian  221 | 24946
31 Jul 2019   #574
Well, no. You are close with drawing cause the line in Polish is kreska, which is usually drawn with a pen or pencil. But it means to give up sth or sb, to resign.

to put a small cross/x-mark on sb/sth
Chemikiem
2 Aug 2019   #575
it means to give up sth or sb, to resign.

Ok, thanks for that.

put a small cross/x-mark on sb/sth

Does it mean to doubt someone, or someone considers something to be lost or not worthy of further effort?
OP pawian  221 | 24946
2 Aug 2019   #576
Yes, these last two idioms have the same meaning.

to pull the string along
Chemikiem
3 Aug 2019   #577
To manage matters from a position invisible to others?
OP pawian  221 | 24946
3 Aug 2019   #578
Nope. String in this idiom refers to musical intruments. When you stretch it too much, it breaks. The idiom means: don`t exaggerate or go too far than allowed.

One, two, three, etc as many as you wish stick(s) - what did it mean in PRL times?
Chemikiem
6 Aug 2019   #579
idiom means: don`t exaggerate or go too far than allowed.

Ok, thanks.

what did it mean in PRL times?

Unless 'sticks' are meant in the sense of something being freely available and something one doesn't have to queue up for, I have no idea.
Lenka  5 | 3475
7 Aug 2019   #580
I remebered one:
A boy to be beaten
Chemikiem
7 Aug 2019   #581
A whipping boy? In the UK it is a person who gets blamed or punished for the faults/deeds of others.
Wincig  2 | 225
8 Aug 2019   #582
Why a "whipping boy" and not a "whipped boy" which would seem more relevant given the meaning?
Chemikiem
9 Aug 2019   #583
I'm not sure my answer is even right Wincig, until Lenka looks at this thread again. The idioms have been translated from Polish into English first, sometimes translation doesn't exactly match. What you say is correct, but it's just my guess at the moment as I have no other ideas.
Ziemowit  14 | 3936
9 Aug 2019   #584
IMHO, "a boy for beating" would be a better translation.

Or "a boy for whipping" indeed.
Chemikiem
9 Aug 2019   #585
So is my answer right then?
OP pawian  221 | 24946
11 Aug 2019   #586
In the UK it is a person who gets blamed or punished for the faults/deeds of others.

Yes.

Unless 'sticks' are meant in the sense of something being freely available

Stick in PRL times meant one thousand zlotys.

to take oneself into handful.
Chemikiem
11 Aug 2019   #587
Stick in PRL times meant one thousand zlotys.

So people would wish for money, or have I got the context wrong?

to take oneself into handful.

To get hold of oneself, get a grip, get your act together?
OP pawian  221 | 24946
12 Aug 2019   #588
I am not sure what you mean with wishing for money. The usage of stick: It will cost you a stick. Give me a stick and we have a deal etc etc.

Yes, get a grip.

From another thread : To look for the wind in the field.

Before I forget - I just looked at sth in the countryside bathroom and thought:

sth functions (in different ways)on the word of honour.
Chemikiem
12 Aug 2019   #589
I am not sure what you mean with wishing for money.

Because you said the in the idiom, 'as many as you wish sticks', so I wasn't sure how it should be interpreted.

To look for the wind in the field.

Might as well look for something impossible to find, a wild goose chase?

sth functions (in different ways)on the word of honour.

Is this something to do with behaviour? Not everything is as certain and reliable as the promise of someone's word?
OP pawian  221 | 24946
13 Aug 2019   #590
Because you said the in the idiom, 'as many as you wish sticks', so I wasn't sure how it should be interpreted.

Sorry, probably I forgot to use italics to seperate that addition which was a simple continuation of one, two, ..... Next time I will be more careful:

e.g.,
One, two, three,(etc as many as you wish)stick(s)-

Might as well look for something impossible to find, a wild goose chase?

Correct if you mean it refers to people or things that manage to escape and vanish into thin air.

Is this something to do with behaviour?

No, when I wrote sth, it was important cause it refers to things which are on the verge of a breakdown but still work, miraculously..

There is sth on the thing.
Chemikiem
13 Aug 2019   #591
One, two, three,(etc as many as you wish)stick(s)-

Yep, that would have been better :)

it refers to people or things that manage to escape and vanish into thin air.

Yes.

it refers to things which are on the verge of a breakdown but still work, miraculously..

Aha! Ok, thanks for that.
I have no ideas about the new one though, no idea what the 'thing' is meant to be.
OP pawian  221 | 24946
13 Aug 2019   #592
Thing as rzecz, can also be matter.
Chemikiem
14 Aug 2019   #593
There is sth on the thing.

Something's up? There's more to be said about something, a story behind this?
OP pawian  221 | 24946
14 Aug 2019   #594
Yes!

it goes like along the string.
Chemikiem
15 Aug 2019   #595
It goes straight down the line?
OP pawian  221 | 24946
15 Aug 2019   #596
Yes.

to eat this frog
Chemikiem
16 Aug 2019   #597
To bear the consequences of one's own behaviour? Deal with a difficult situation?
OP pawian  221 | 24946
16 Aug 2019   #598
Yes, difficult but primarily unpleasant, just like eating a frog. :):)

We had a stick from PRL times, now it is time for a bubble. How much was it?
Chemikiem
21 Aug 2019   #599
How much was it?

I think it was this much:


  • 91B2244B0F0C4F2C9.jpeg
OP pawian  221 | 24946
21 Aug 2019   #600
Yes, in Sztos about communist time fraudsters they say in the illegal casino: so, we wetted a bubble and two hundred. :):)

sparkling water rushes into sb`s head.

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