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  What it means

  Literally “to cholera.” A mild expletive expressing frustration, annoyance, or emphasis — the Polish equivalent of “damn it” or “for crying out loud.” One of the most common everyday curses.

  Vocabulary

  • do — to (preposition)
  • cholera — cholera (used as a mild expletive)

  Grammar note

  'Cholery' is the genitive of 'cholera' after 'do'. Disease names used as expletives typically appear in the genitive after 'do'.

  Cultural context

  Historically, disease names were among the strongest curses in Polish. Today 'do cholery' is considered quite mild and is used freely in everyday speech.

  Beginner

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