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  What it means

  Wait, daddy, for a little while — until the wolves eat the mare. An ironic extension meaning the wait will be so long that disaster will strike first.

  English equivalent

  Don't hold your breath.

  Vocabulary

  • kobyłka — mare (small or old horse)
  • wilcy — wolves (archaic plural of wilk)
  • zjeść — to eat up, to devour

  Grammar note

  'Wilcy' is an archaic nominative plural of 'wilk'; modern Polish uses 'wilki'.

  Cultural context

  Archaic variant of the 'czekaj tatka latka' family; the wolves eating the mare underlines the hopelessness of the wait.

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