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  What it means

  Literally “to wake up with one’s hand in a chamber pot.” Means to realize too late that a situation has gone wrong or that you’ve been left behind. “To be caught napping,” “to have a rude awakening.”

  Vocabulary

  • ręka — hand
  • nocnik — chamber pot/potty

  Grammar note

  Preposition 'w' + locative 'nocniku'.

  Cultural context

  A very vivid, slightly crude idiom for a sudden, unpleasant realization.

  Intermediate

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