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  What it means

  Literally “the black people / the dark folk.” An old-fashioned term for common working people, the lower classes, or the masses — those who do the hard, dirty work.

  Vocabulary

  • czarny — black (masculine)
  • lud — people, folk, the masses

  Grammar note

  'Lud' is a collective noun, masculine singular. The phrase is somewhat archaic and literary.

  Cultural context

  Historically referred to peasants and labourers. Today it can be used ironically or in historical/literary contexts.

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