na kolanie
Meaning: Done quickly, crudely, or without proper care; improvised and shoddy.
Language: Polish
Literally: on the knee
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Origin uncertain; may derive from work or repairs done hastily while sitting on one's knee rather than at a proper workbench.
More idioms — Daily Life
- papierek lakmusowy — A decisive test that reveals the true nature or quality of something.
- 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.
- pojechać do Rygi — To vomit.
More Polish idioms
- utrzymać język za zębami — To keep silent and refrain from speaking.
- nic a nic — Not at all; not in the slightest.
- mieć głowę na karku — To be sensible, intelligent, and capable of thinking for oneself.
- 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.
- biała trucizna — Refined sugar, especially when consumed in excess, likened to an addictive and harmful su…
From our tongue twisters
- Ząb, zupa zębowa; dąb, zupa dębowa. — Drills the nasal vowels ą and ę, which only differ from plain a and e by the nasal hum.
- W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie i Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie. — The opening of a poem by Julian Tuwim, now Poland's most-quoted tongue twister — the cons…
- Stół z powyłamywanymi nogami. — Six words, almost no vowels — a single noun phrase that non-Polish speakers find impossib…