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  What it means

  Literally “dark mass.” Refers to an ignorant, uneducated crowd — the unwashed masses, the rabble. Used condescendingly about people seen as lacking culture or awareness.

  Vocabulary

  • ciemny — dark / ignorant / uneducated
  • masa — mass / crowd

  Grammar note

  A noun phrase in the nominative. 'Ciemny' here means intellectually or culturally 'in the dark.'

  Cultural context

  Has a long history in Polish social discourse — used by the intelligentsia about the peasantry, and still used today in political commentary.

  Intermediate

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