• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “roasted pigeons don’t fly into your mouth by themselves.” Means that you have to work for things; they won’t just fall into your lap.

  Vocabulary

  • gołąbki — pigeons (also a stuffed cabbage dish)
  • gąbka — sponge (slang for mouth here)

  Grammar note

  The rhyme between 'gołąbki' and 'gąbki' is essential to the proverb.

  Cultural context

  A classic Polish proverb about the necessity of effort.

  Intermediate

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