PolishWyjść jak Zabłocki na mydle
Meaning: To lose out badly on a deal.
Literally: To come out like Zabłocki on soap
Example: “Zainwestował w kryptowaluty i wyszedł jak Zabłocki na mydle.” — He invested in crypto and got the short end of the stick.
English equivalent: To get the short end of the stick
Equivalents in other languages
English: get the short end of the stick
French: La portion congrue Literally: The congruous portion- French: L'avoir dans l'os Literally: To have it in the bone
Origin: Polish Wiktionary traces it to a 19th-century nobleman, Cyprian Zabłocki, who wanted to avoid customs duty on a cargo of soap and towed it behind his barge on the Vistula in crates he thought were watertight. At the end of the journey the crates turned out to have leaked, and all the soap had dissolved in the river. Whether Zabłocki and his soap really existed is not confirmed by other sources.
More Polish idioms
- co ślina na język przyniesie Careless, thoughtless speech; whatever comes to mind without reflection or substance.
- błędne koło A logical fallacy or impossible situation in which the solution requires solving the prob…
- podbijać bębenka To flatter someone or egg them on; to feed someone's vanity.
- róg Amaltei An abundant and inexhaustible source of wealth or plenty.
- kupować kota w worku To purchase something without examining it first, risking getting a poor deal.
- zapaść się pod ziemię To wish to disappear from shame or mortification.
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