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  What it means

  “He lost the bread and didn’t find a roll.” Someone gave up something solid in hopes of something better, and ended up with nothing. A warning against greed or reckless risk-taking.

  English equivalent

  Between two stools one falls to the ground.

  Vocabulary

  • chleb — bread
  • stracić — to lose, to forfeit
  • bułka — bread roll
  • znaleźć — to find

  Grammar note

  'Stracił' and 'znalazł' are both masculine singular past tense forms. 'Bułki' is the genitive singular after the negation 'nie znalazł'.

  Cultural context

  The contrast between plain bread (chleb) and a fancier roll (bułka) neatly captures the idea of chasing an upgrade and losing everything.

  Intermediate

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