When I was little my dad would often use an energetic expression that he told me was Polish, but he never told me the translation. I don't know how much of the language my dad knew; my grandparents were were fluent but I never heard my father carry on conversations in Polish, just an occasional word here in there in situations. I bring that up because I don't know how much of the expression father used would actually translate into a meaningful Polish expression, if what he said became Americanized gibberish that means nothing at all.
I wouldn't even know where to begin with how it would be spelled but phonetically it sounded like: SHAH-kah-DINTZ neet-SPOHT-teh ... and sometimes he would just say the first word without the second one, as though it carried the same meaning with or without it. Kind of like "what the hell," and "what the..." If you went with the second option people would know what you're saying and the meaning isn't lost.
Anyway, that's kind of the scenario in which he would use the expression; kind of like an exclamation. As I remember, it would fit into scenarios where someone, in English, would say something like: "what the hell" ... "son of a bit**" ... "oh my god!" ... something like that. If a six year old kid spilled paint on a white rug and my dad walked in the room he might say, SHAH-kah-DINTZ !!! or SHAH-kah-DINTZ neet-SPOHT-teh !!! Not that I ever spilled paint on the rug ... but if I did then he definitely would have said it!
@mafketis I don't have much contact with the world of drugs and am unfamiliar with street language. To this day, I have no idea what the smell of marijuana is like.
A long time ago, while visiting my daughter's cottage, I noticed an unpleasant odor and assumed it might be a skunk nearby. My daughter just laughed and said, "Yeah, Dad, it's a two-legged skunk frying his brain.
It is true I left Poland decades ago, and I am familiar with plomien, pozar, czerwony kur, jezdziec Akopalipsy, but never jarac,are you sure this is not a regional abnormality? I am certain it is a slang, but I don't suspect it is used, country-wide
Decades or half a century? Because decades ago, that word was in circulation. I wouldn't say it was used everywhere, it was obviously prison slang that found its way into vocabulary of young people. Nowadays, one would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't understand its meaning.
I was responding to #605 which had the question: "how do u say "lets get high" as in smoking"
I offered a possible answer which people in Poland recognize and maybe some in Polonia don't.
I wouldn't say jarać się is slang, it's informal colloquial (potoczny) usage. I've heard it on Polish tv (including years ago).
slang tends to be restricted to groups (based on age or other factors) and tends to be very unstable
informal colloquial usage 'potoczny' is just that... how people speak informally and is much more durable and often leads to changes in what is considered correct
tą kobietę isn't slang but rather colloquial usage that is (very) slowly supplanting the official and more formal 'tę kobietę'
'Jarać' is not a regional word - it is an ancient Polish and indeed Slavic lexical item. It originally means 'to burn' or to 'set on fire' but, as Maf and Jon noticed, it can also mean 'to smoke' (cigarettes, weed etc.). It's from proto-Slavic 'jariti' (to make hot, to inflame) and it is connected to Jarilo ('the fiery one') - a Slavic god of fiery life and spring vitality...
There's nothing mysterious about the proper usage of the term "tę kobietę"; it's used every day in casual conversation among regular people. Every dictionary will confirm this. However, the term "zjaramy się" is definitely slang-a problematic distortion of the beauty of the Polish language.
I don't expect to see "kalectwo" widely used in culturally refined circles or included in the Polish dictionary. Therefore, I proudly reject any attempts to equate the correct form "tę kobietę" with the mutilation of the language. And yes, I left Poland decades ago, but I hold Poland close to my heart, and I am closely connected
But many people say 'tą' and that's now considered acceptable in informal speech and maybe in informal writing (by Miodek or Bralczyk IIRC). New forms first enter speech as being 'incorrect' then are okay in casual speech and then eventually are accepted more broadly. That's how languages work.
Consult the little Turkey. It is either shrouded in antiquity according to historian Turkey, or a recent abnormality born in the gutter. Take your pick; get off the fence or you risk crushing your jewels.
When, and where, did I say that? Torq, the historian, draws a connection between pot smoking and the ancient Slavic god. Reflecting on historical tragedies and the devastating actions of our ancient ancestors, I hold Jarilo, the pot-smoking god, and his followers responsible. Instead of leading the nations to success, they stumble around in a pot-induced stupor, much like you, Jon, flooding PF pages with nonsensical responses. They are ancient treasures, priceless and as old as humanity's practices, born from the gutter.
