Jadwiga 1 | - 18 Feb 2009 #1I am a published author writing about Polish-American immigrants in midwest America during the 20s and 30s. I would like to know some simple AND HARMLESS Polish swear words/phrases that an older man might use in anger. I remember my grandfather's, which is not that harmless.I can only spell it phonetically:"Pshaw-clef," which I think means, literally, "dog's blood." But it translates, certainly, into something more coarse.Thank you!
chi 1 | 33 18 Feb 2009 #3psia maćpsia juchapsia dupaI also remember my grandfather saying something like:- jasny gwint- do diaska- cholera jasna- choina [ this was my grandfather's brother favourite - I liked it because he always saidthat instead of 'cholera' when children were around:-) ]
osiol 55 | 3,922 18 Feb 2009 #4CholeraThere's an old chap at work whose swearword of choice seems to be cholera. He was off work today seeing the doctor. I imagine the doctor telling him that, no, he isn't actually suffering from cholera. He doesn't exhibit a particularly choleric character.
Polonius3 1,000 | 12,446 21 Feb 2009 #5Cholera was once considered quite rude so it was replaced by the euphemism choroba. Go figure.Just as do diaska replaced do diabła, regarded as a very strong oath.
Wroclaw 44 | 5,384 21 Feb 2009 #6Cholera was once considered quite rude so it was replaced by the euphemism choroba.I still hear 'cholera' used
Seanus 15 | 19,706 21 Feb 2009 #7Cholera is very much used today. P3, you don't even live in Poland, do you?
Switezianka - | 463 22 Feb 2009 #8A niech to gęś kopnie!Motyla noga!Do jasnej anielki!Kurcze pieczone/blade!
Pomorzanka - | 28 22 Feb 2009 #9- kurcze pióro (chicken's feather)- kurka wodna (water hen)- psia kość (dog's bone)- kuchnia (kitchen)
Polonius3 1,000 | 12,446 28 Feb 2009 #10Sorry, I misphrased things. I did not intend to suggest that choroba has replaced or displaced cholera which is very much alive. I wanted to say choroba was once used by those who felt cholera was too strong. Mea maxima culpa for my lack of clarity!
gosiaczek 1 | 85 28 Feb 2009 #11I like this one: kurdzibąk (although I'm not sure if this should be spelled kurdzi bąk or kurdzibąk), means the same as kurcze pieczone, psia krew, and so on.do stu diabłówniech to piorun trzaśnieJadwiga:Pshaw-clefmy grandma still uses this one
robbietravelcat 22 Jul 2010 #12DaveyWhat does Pshaw-clef mean? This is so weird.... I never saw it spelled out before, I only heard it. My father used to say it a lot when he got angry, but he said "Pshaw-chef oletta.
skysoulmate 14 | 1,295 22 Jul 2010 #13Psia krew? "dog's blood" ~ damn it!Not sure about the last word?Never mind, just saw the first post explaining it...
f stop 25 | 2,513 22 Jul 2010 #14my fathers:jasna choleraand, of course, psia krew.Never heard my mother or any of my grandparents curse.
tow_stalin - | 57 22 Jul 2010 #15in southern poland very useful unharmless swear is: "ty pierunie" which means in enlglish: "you lightning". or "ty giździe", or even "ty ciućmoku" and even more even "ty ćmiylu".outcome is that, "W szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie" is not so hard to spell :)
plk123 8 | 4,148 25 Jul 2010 #19you can email me, no? or give me some time so i can read all the bitchin' PMs i got. :D
Seanus 15 | 19,706 25 Jul 2010 #20Well, if the Mods permit this to stay up til you finish work on it ;) ;)youtube.com/watch?v=_AnwwMxJqvk&NR=1I can't make out what is said here. Sth like 'if you need help, come to the pub??' (or come to papa??)Oh, spieprzyć is old and harmless despite the stem.
plk123 8 | 4,148 25 Jul 2010 #21it's just over peppered. :)I can't make out what is said here. Sth like 'if you need help, come to the pub??' (or come to papa??)i can't tell.. i don't have any head phones with me here. sorry
Seanus 15 | 19,706 25 Jul 2010 #22Over-peppered, LOL. Or screwed up ;)Then please listen without ;) ;)
plk123 8 | 4,148 25 Jul 2010 #23i did and i can't tell one thing.. that's why i mentioned head phones.. those would help tremendously..
tomzick - | 1 27 Sep 2010 #25I remember hearing a phrase used by the old Polish ladies in my neighborhood (Buffalo, NY) that sounded something like, "oh, helleda!" Does anyone know it, what it means, how to say it, how to spell it correctly?Jen-kooya!Tom
noreenb 7 | 557 28 Sep 2010 #28"-Cholera jasna." or: "-Do jasnej cholery!" are my favourite."Cholera mnie bierze" - "I can't stand it any longer""Kurza twarz" (hen's face) is nice too."Do diaska", "do diabła", and plenty others.
smp 21 Oct 2010 #29How about: "do kroćset" (doh krotch-set)? I'm not even trying to translate it... ;)But my all-time favorite old-fashioned phrase is KRUCAFUKS. Spell it: "krootza-fookhz", with an accent on the second part. I don't know how to translate it (because it means totallty and absolutely nothing), but it reminds me of english "oh, bloody hell". ProbablyTo be perfectly clear - no one talks like that in Poland nowadays. But my grandpa probably used that phrase often. :)