Sayings of Polish origin
What reaches the mother’s heart will only reach the father’s knees.
When the master has a cold the servants sneeze.
One hand washes the other.
You can’t heal stubbornness.
It is easier to watch over one hundred fleas than one young girl.
A rich man even has the devil to lull his children.
The good won’t be spoiled in an inn, so the bad won’t be mended in a church
When a girl is born it is like having six thieves invade the house.
You are free, Tom, in your own home.
Water teaches us to weep, wine teaches us to sing.
Old habits die hard.
The worst devil is the one who prays.
Delayed is preferable to never.
Not everything that’s allowed is agreeable
Where two people fight against each other, the third one wins.
A swift help is worth more.
of the dead speak well or not at all.
A good man even in a tavern won’t be spoiled, even church can save a bad man.
A jug carries water until its handle breaks off.
Better discretion than courage.
When a woman knows no more how to answer, she must be dried up.
Everyone is tempted to evil.
Expect nothing from friends, do what you can do yourself.
Every dog has its day
The doorstep of the palace is very slippery.
A sparrow in the hand is better than a pigeon on the roof.
Fortune favors the bold.
What you reap is what you sow.
That which everybody guards will soon disappear.
Listen to people, but keep your own wits.
A bad dancer blames the hem of her skirt.
Where there is butter there are flies.
When the dog eats, he doesn’t bark, because his food will run away.
The crow won’t peck an eye of another crow.
All the goats jump onto leaning trees.
The world is a big place but there is so little room in it.
When February comes, hobnail your shoes
Don’t say ‘up’, before you have jumped.
Better is one unmarried lady than 4 widows.
No Work, no Dinner
Ink, if not used, will dry up.
A honey tongue and a heart of gall.
Under capitalism man exploits man; under socialism the reverse is true.
The best asset is a clean conscience.
The liar will travel the world over, but chooses not to go back home.
Don’t praise the day before sunset.
Ingratitude is the world’s reward.
Bad things often turn out to be good for you
Fate throws fortune, but not everyone catches.
If the farmer is poor then so is the whole country.
Guest coming into house – God coming into house.
In a game it’s difficult to know when to stop.
The devil can swallow a woman but he can’t digest her.
There will be no bread from that flour.
A beautifully decorated plate won’t feed anyone.
Even if a chef cooks just a fly, he would keep the breast for himself.
What I believe in is all that is mine.
One maiden is better than four widows.
If you are going to fight, pray once; if you are going to sail, pray twice; if you are getting married, then pray thrice.
A beggar talked to a picture, but picture answered nothing
Curiosity is the first step to hell.
Pride comes before fall.
Where the body wants to rest, there the legs must carry it.
The farmer is a born philosopher, the aristocrat has to learn how.
Watch the faces of those who bow low.
Where there are six cooks, there is nothing to eat.
What little Johnny has not learned, big John will not know.
Wherever you go, you can’t get rid of yourself.
Running away makes you guilty.
All’s well that ends well.
A whore won’t tear off another whore’ head.
A pretty person looks pretty in every clothing.
Add up your pennies, and buy a hen.
Even the devil rocks a rich person’s child.
A sore finger and a headache are standard excuses for not going to school.
If it were not for the hands, the clock would be useless.
Where there is love, there is happiness.
He who gives quickly gives twice.
The greatest love is a mother’s, then a dog’s, then a sweetheart’s.
The locksmith is the guilty one, but the blacksmith hangs.
Don’t talk about others, they won’t talk about you.
It is easier to take a couple of drinks than to refuse them.
In church, in the taverns, and in coffins all men are equal.
When I had money everyone called me brother.
Who’s saying the truth, does not need a lot of words.
The real unlucky one will sprain his thumb when he blows his nose.
Mice play around, when they don’t smell the cat.
Bear witness to facts, not words.
Nothing for nothing.
Even the goats will jump on a slanted tree.
Light a candle for God and a candle-stub for the Devil.
There are a thousand paths to every wrong.
Better one today, than two tomorrow.
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
I’m human and nothing that is human is to me strange.
Poverty does not lose its virtue.
Someone else’s hands are light, but not big.
Do not ask the old – ask the experienced.
The giver should forget, but the receiver should remember forever.
Better late than never.
Keep learning because knowledge is the key to power.
Drop after drop, there will be a sea.
The bell is loud because it is empty.
If everyone swept in front of his house, the whole town would be clean.
It is better to die standing than to live on your knees.
Where there is smoke, there is fire.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Everywhere is fine, but best at home.
Don’t share the skin while it’s still on the bear.
Home, sweet home.
You rest the way you have made your bed.
Not at once Krakow was ignorance of law is harmful.
Talk of a wolf and the wolf is here.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
As Jake treats God, God will treat Jake
Without salt the feast is sad.
In Russia as you must, in Poland as you like.
A good joke is a penny worth
He, who laughs last, laughs the longest.
Even Hercules turns yellow in the face of many enemies.
The one attacked by ravens is also attacked by crows.
It is a poor parish where the priest has to ring his own bells.
In healthy body a healthy spirit resides
Every bubble bursts.
When a woman has got off a wagon, horses have an easier time.
Only the shoe knows that the stocking is torn.
Where the Devil can’t go, he’ll send a woman.
Who is fat, is happy.
Obscurity envelops truth.
Do as you please at your own home.
Better not to add salt than over salt.
When out to kill a fly, don’t roll out a cannon to accomplish it.
When a man hurries, the devil smiles.
Not everything that’s allowed is best.
A humble calf will feed from two mothers.
Who gives and then takes it back, is mistreated in hell.
Seek and you shall find.
Every error has its excuse.
A fool does not need any bells.
In every little house there is a little louse.
When among the crows, caw as the crows do.
Even a clock that is not going is right twice a day.
You can wait till the cows come home.
The Republic of Poland
Poland is a sovereign country in Central Europe. It is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, covering an area of 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi) with a mostly temperate climate. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the sixth most populous member state of the European Union. (Source)
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. Other cities include Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław, Poznań and Gdańsk.
Polish (is a Slavic language spoken primarily in Poland and the native language of Poles. It belongs to the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages. Polish is the official language of Poland, but it is also used throughout the world by Polish minorities in other countries. It is one of the official languages of the European Union.
“Mazurek Dąbrowskiego” is the title of the national anthem of Poland.
Lyrics
Poland has not yet died,
So long as we still live.
What the alien power has seized from us,
We shall recapture with a sabre.
March, march, Dąbrowski,
To Poland from the Italian land.
Under your command
We shall rejoin the nation.
Like Czarniecki to Poznań
Returned across the sea
To save his homeland
After the Swedish partition.
March, march…
We’ll cross the Vistula, we’ll cross the Warta,
We shall be Polish.
Bonaparte has given us the example
Of how we should prevail.
March, march…
The German nor the Muscovite will settle
When, with a backsword in hand,
“Concord” will be everybody’s watchword
And so will be our fatherland.
March, march…
A father, in tears,
Says to his Basia
Listen, our boys are said
To be beating the tarabans.
March, march…
All exclaim in unison,
“Enough of this captivity!”
We’ve got the scythes of Racławice,
Kościuszko, if God wills.
