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  What it means

  Literally “on the stump / while still standing.” Means sold before being harvested or completed — “sold on the vine,” “sold before it’s made.” Also means something sells instantly.

  Vocabulary

  • pień — tree trunk, stump

  Grammar note

  'Na pniu' uses the locative of 'pień' after 'na' — state (while still on the stump/tree).

  Cultural context

  An agricultural metaphor — selling a crop while it's still growing in the field, before harvest. Now used for anything that sells out immediately.

  Intermediate

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