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  What it means

  Literally “where the devil can’t manage, he’ll send a woman.” A sardonic saying suggesting that a determined or cunning woman can succeed where even the devil fails. Used humorously — sometimes as a backhanded compliment to a persistent woman.

  Vocabulary

  • diabeł — devil
  • baba — woman (colloquial, can be affectionate or dismissive)
  • posłać — to send (perfective)

  Grammar note

  'Gdzie... tam...' is a correlative structure: 'where X, there Y'. 'Babę' is the accusative of 'baba'.

  Cultural context

  Deeply embedded in Polish folk culture. Modern usage is often ironic or self-aware — women quote it about themselves with pride.

  Intermediate

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