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  What it means

  Literally “to grab God by the legs.” Means to be incredibly lucky, to have extraordinary good fortune — as if you managed to grab hold of God himself. “To be incredibly lucky,” “to have the luck of the devil.”

  Vocabulary

  • Pan Bóg — the Lord God
  • nogi — legs

  Grammar note

  'Za nogi' uses the accusative plural of 'noga' after 'za' — grabbing by the legs.

  Cultural context

  A vivid, irreverent image — grabbing God by the legs is the ultimate act of impossible luck. Reflects the Polish folk tendency to mix the sacred with the earthy.

  Intermediate

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