• Listen

  What it means

  Literally: “to get away dry.” The image is of crossing water without getting wet, escaping a dangerous or awkward situation without consequences. Figuratively, it means getting away with something or avoiding punishment or blame after doing something wrong. Poles use it when someone avoids the natural consequences of their actions: Tym razem uszło mu na sucho, “He got away with it this time.”

  Vocabulary

  • ujść — to get away, to escape (perfective)
  • na sucho — dry, without getting wet (adverbial phrase)
  • suchy — dry (adjective)

  Grammar note

  Ujść is the perfective form of uchodzić. The phrase na sucho is a fixed adverbial phrase (na + the accusative of suchy used like a noun) meaning 'in a dry state' or 'without cost.' The full form is usually ujść komuś na sucho. The dative komuś shows who gets away with it, so the person escaping punishment is the indirect object.

  Cultural context

  Ujść na sucho is a common Polish idiom in all settings, from casual speech to newspaper headlines. Its closest English equivalents are 'to get away with it,' 'to come out unscathed,' or 'to escape scot-free.' It often has a mildly angry tone: the speaker feels the escape was unfair or undeserved.

  Intermediate

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