strzyc uszami
Meaning: To prick up one's ears; to listen intently.
Language: Polish
Literally: to crop ears
Category: Animals
Origin: The image derives from how animals—dogs, horses, cats—swivel or raise their ears when they detect sound, a sign of sudden alertness.
More idioms — Animals
- rany koguta — A mild exclamation expressing surprise, frustration, or emphasis.
- wziąć w łapę — To take a bribe or to accept money corruptly.
- pijany jak świnia — Extremely intoxicated or drunk.
- ежовые рукавицы (ezhovye rukavitsy) — Harsh, strict, or iron-fisted rule or discipline.
- надуться как мышь на крупу (nadut'sya kak mysh' na krupu) — To become angry or offended; to sulk or huff indignantly.
- метать бисер перед свиньями (metat' biser pered svin'yami) — To offer something precious or refined to someone incapable of appreciating it.
More Polish idioms
- 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.
- 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.
- włożyć kij w szprychy — To obstruct or sabotage someone's plans or efforts.
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…