Polishkończ waść, wstydu oszczędź
Meaning: A plea to someone to stop and spare the speaker further humiliation, even if it means accepting defeat.
Literally: Finish it, sir, spare me the shame
Example: “Przegrywali dziesięć do zera. Kończ waść, wstydu oszczędź!” — They were losing ten to nothing. Just end it and spare us the shame!
Origin: From Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel Potop (The Deluge, 1886). During their duel, the hero Andrzej Kmicic, outmatched and toyed with by the master swordsman Michał Wołodyjowski, begs him: Kończ waść, wstydu oszczędź!, "Finish it, sir, spare me the shame!" Waść is an old form of address among the nobility. The line is a plea to end a humiliation quickly, though it is often misused as a call on someone else to give up.
More Polish idioms
- światełko w tunelu A sign of hope or improvement after a long period of hardship or darkness.
- robić dobrą minę do złej gry To grin and bear it; to pretend a bad situation is acceptable.
- zmieszać z błotem To harshly criticize or verbally attack someone; to tear them apart.
- rozłożyć ręce To give up; to throw up one's hands in admission of defeat or inability to act.
- strzyc uszami To prick up one's ears; to listen intently.
- cud miód Something delicious, wonderful, or excellent.
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