• Listen

  What it means

  A rhyming saying used when someone pulls a trick or makes a clever move in response to another — meeting cunning with cunning.

  Vocabulary

  • figiel — trick, prank
  • mawiać — to be in the habit of saying
  • święty — saint

  Grammar note

  'Figur' is the genitive plural of 'figiel'. 'Mawiał' is the imperfect past of 'mawiać', implying habitual speech.

  Cultural context

  Saint Igor is invoked purely for the rhyme. The proverb is used playfully when someone outsmarts another with their own methods.

  Intermediate

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!