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  What it means

  “When a tree falls, everyone gathers the chips.” When a powerful person falls from grace or a great institution collapses, everyone rushes to take advantage and grab what they can.

  English equivalent

  When the tree falls, everyone runs to cut branches.

  Vocabulary

  • drzewo — tree
  • obalić się — to fall, to topple
  • wiór — wood chip, shaving
  • zbierać — to gather, to collect

  Grammar note

  'Obali się' is the perfective future of 'obalić się'. 'Wióry' is the accusative plural of 'wiór'.

  Cultural context

  A cynical observation about human opportunism. The image of gathering wood chips after a tree falls was vivid and practical in a rural, forest-rich Poland.

  Intermediate

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