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  What it means

  Literally “the dice have been cast.” Means a decision has been made and cannot be undone — there is no going back. The Polish equivalent of “the die is cast.”

  Vocabulary

  • kości — dice, bones (plural of kość)
  • rzucone — thrown, cast (past passive participle)

  Grammar note

  'Zostały rzucone' is the passive perfect construction — 'have been thrown'. 'Kości' is nominative plural subject.

  Cultural context

  A translation of Caesar's 'alea iacta est' — the phrase entered Polish through Latin education and is widely recognised.

  Intermediate

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