• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “where the back ends its noble name.” A humorous euphemism for the buttocks — used to avoid saying a cruder word while making everyone laugh at the elaborate circumlocution.

  Vocabulary

  • plecy — back (plural)
  • kończyć — to end / to finish
  • szlachetny — noble / dignified
  • nazwa — name

  Grammar note

  'Swoją szlachetną nazwę' uses the accusative — the object of 'kończyć'. A relative clause construction: 'where the back ends its noble name'.

  Cultural context

  A classic example of Polish verbal wit — the more elaborate the euphemism, the funnier it becomes. Often attributed to the tradition of noble (szlachta) speech.

  Intermediate

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!