mieć głowę na karku
Meaning: To be sensible, intelligent, and capable of thinking for oneself.
Language: Polish
Literally: to have head on neck
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: The phrase pictures the head as the seat of reason, positioned where it belongs on a competent person.
More idioms — Body & Senses
- trzymać buzię na kłódkę — To keep silent and not reveal a secret.
- policzyć na palcach jednej ręki — To be very few in number; countable on one hand.
- uzbroić się w cierpliwość — To be patient or to gather one's patience.
- rozłożyć ręce — To give up; to throw up one's hands in admission of defeat or inability to act.
- stracić nerwy — To lose one's emotional control and become agitated or frantic.
- stracić głowę — To act without rational thought; to abandon self-control and sound judgment.
More Polish idioms
- wyrzucić pieniądze w błoto — To waste money on something worthless or futile.
- prosty jak drut — Very easy or straightforward.
- dusza towarzystwa — The most entertaining or lively person at a gathering.
- list gończy — An arrest warrant, especially a public wanted poster circulated to apprehend a fugitive.
- biała trucizna — Refined sugar, especially when consumed in excess, likened to an addictive and harmful su…
- studnia bez dna — An endless source of trouble or expense; something that consumes resources without limit…
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