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rozłożyć ręce

Meaning: To give up; to throw up one's hands in admission of defeat or inability to act.

Language: Polish

Literally: to lay down one's hands

Category: Body & Senses

Origin: The gesture of dropping one's hands signals surrender, helplessness, or resignation in the face of circumstances beyond one's control.

More idioms — Body & Senses

  • 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.
  • stracić twarz — To suffer a loss of respect, dignity, or social standing, especially through shame or fai…
  • wziąć na barki — To assume responsibility for something or take on a burden.
  • сыпать соль на рану — To deliberately make someone's suffering worse by adding mockery or fresh insult to their…
  • проверять на вшивость — To scrutinize or investigate someone closely to uncover hidden faults or problems; to vet…

More Polish idioms

  • bez owijania w bawełnę — Bluntly and directly, without softening or sugarcoating one's words.
  • nie dać żyć — To make someone's life so difficult and burdensome that they cannot function normally.
  • strzyc uszami — To prick up one's ears; to listen intently.
  • zamiatać pod dywan — To conceal or hide a problem rather than address it directly.
  • cud miód — Something delicious, wonderful, or excellent.
  • wąchać kwiatki od spodu — To be dead; to push up daisies.

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