• Listen

  What it means

  A list of things that are unwelcome or out of place: a hole in a sack, a guest in the pantry, sand in flour, water in a meadow, weeds in rye, anger in a monk’s habit — all are nuisances.

  Vocabulary

  • wór — sack, bag
  • komora — pantry, storeroom
  • kąkol — cockle (a weed, Agrostemma githago)
  • żyto — rye
  • habit — monk's or nun's habit
  • niecny — vile, wretched, unwelcome

  Grammar note

  All nouns are in the locative case after implied 'w' (in). The list structure with a final summary noun ('rzeczy niecne') is a classic folk-proverb form.

  Cultural context

  An elaborate folk proverb cataloguing everyday annoyances. The inclusion of 'złość w habicie' (anger in a monk's habit) reflects the religious context of rural Polish life.

  Advanced

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!