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  What it means

  Literally “all the steam goes into the whistle.” Means that all effort, energy, or resources are wasted on something trivial or showy — nothing useful gets done.

  Vocabulary

  • para — steam
  • gwizdek — whistle

  Grammar note

  'W gwizdek' uses the accusative after 'w' expressing direction — the steam goes into the whistle.

  Cultural context

  A steam engine metaphor — a whistle is loud and attention-grabbing but does no useful work. Often used in political commentary.

  Intermediate

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