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  What it means

  Literally “by a dog’s smell/burning scent.” Means to achieve something by sheer luck or by a narrow margin, often undeservedly. “By the skin of one’s teeth / by a fluke.”

  Vocabulary

  • pies — dog
  • swąd — smell of something burning

  Grammar note

  Instrumental case 'psim swędem'.

  Cultural context

  A very common expression for lucky accidents.

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