• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “Bayonne sums.” Means an astronomically large amount of money — an outrageous, almost unimaginable sum.

  Vocabulary

  • bajońskie — enormous / astronomical (from Bayonne)
  • sumy — sums / amounts (plural)

  Grammar note

  'Bajońskie sumy' is a nominative phrase. In use: 'kosztuje bajońskie sumy' (it costs a fortune) — accusative 'bajońskie sumy' as object of 'kosztować'.

  Cultural context

  The adjective 'bajońskie' comes from Bayonne, France, where Polish legions under Napoleon were reportedly paid enormous sums. The historical detail is mostly forgotten — the phrase just means 'a ridiculous amount of money.'

  Intermediate

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