Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation

I think the English equivalent would be ' a bad workman always blames his tools'. I like Pawian's explanation of it.


No other reason why he would be on this thread. Wyciepać na hasiok is very appropriate! But now the cat is back so perhaps the mice will stop frolicking ;)

Good to see you back Pawian:) :)


I don't think this is right, but is it the same as to pull strings? For someone to use their power or influence to get what they want for themselves or perhaps for others?

Nope, it isn`t. It connotes another activity. Just imagine the situation - pulling out a wire from the spool.

This game is dumb without the original polish words. please provide that as well as the english translation if you must.

Do you really think the water is too thick to swim freely??

A sexual one?

Yes it is. Very.

It's often used as a reply to an annoying question. Ruder than 'kiss my ass' but used the same way.

Yes. What exactly???

Suck my dick?

Yes...

No, in Polish it is play the first fiddle - play the most important role..

Yes, but a while back you suggested I should try translating English idioms directly into Polish, which is what I've been doing. So there is no Polish equivalent of the grać drugie skrzypce, there is only grać pierwsze skrzypce?

Aaa, so you did it the other way round! I am sorry, I got it all mixed up. I thought you presented a Polish idiom. :):):) So, play the second fiddle is similar to the first fiddle, but the importance is double lower.

to cook your own roast

Hahaha! That's a great way of putting it!


I don't know if it's the same but over here we would say ' to cook your own goose'. It means to bring trouble upon yourself by your own actions. Another way of putting it is to ' shoot yourself in the foot'.

Bessie Smith (accompanied by Louis Armstrong) put it best:

Let me tell you daddy, momma ain't gonna sit here and grieve
Pack up your stuff and get ready to leave
I've stood your foolishness long enough
So now I'm gonna call your bluff
Oh, I'm gonna call your hand
So, now daddy here's my plan

I ain't gonna play no second fiddle 'cause
I'm used to playin' lead...

youtu.be/HTh3ZCO0NnY

Nope, it isn`t it. Hint: cook your own roast while sth else is being done.

Yep, that's even better! Thanks for posting it :)


Is this another sexual activity idiom?

No, of course not. Why do you constantly think about one issue??? :):):)

a bit like 'kill two birds with one stone'?

Have we had "white ravens"?

Yes, maf, kill two birds and then make a roast|!

A white raven can be one of those birds - they are extremely rare so only a few people in the world managed to try the dish.

That is you, not me :):)


Yes, I thought it might be something rare and maybe valuable.

An easy one:

Dumny jak paw

Already exists in Polish

youtu.be/u-rcLhgKU18

at 0:52 (chorus)

Wielki mały człowiek
Zalękniony tak i dumny jak paw
Wielki mały człowiek
Prorok lepszych dni niepewnych spraw
W opiece swej
Dobry Boże ty go miej

loose sloppy translation:
The great little man,
So afraid and proud as a peacock
The great little man,
A prophet of better days of uncertain things / uncertainty
In Your care,
May you keep him God)

Great! Idioms and music! That sounds so bad it could have been destined for Eurovision ;)
Bound to be some overlap with idioms, although it's not that often they're exactly the same in both languages.

As blind as a rat means sb/sth can`t see very well. In Polish the simile is as blind as a mole.

What is Kali`s policy?

Kali's or PiS's cause they're kind of the same....

The original is Kali`s. :)

Moralność Kalego? Double standards and hypocrisy?

Yes, exactly. Do you remember what was the main motif of that policy? Motif, not motive.