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  What it means

  “When winter comes on Saint Catherine’s Day, the snow won’t last and the frost won’t hold.” An early winter starting on November 25 will be short-lived — the snow and frost will not persist.

  Vocabulary

  • Katarzyna — Catherine (Saint Catherine's Day, November 25)
  • zima — winter
  • śnieg — snow
  • poleżeć — to lie for a while, to last
  • mróz — frost
  • potrzymać — to hold, to last

  Grammar note

  'Nie poleży' and 'nie potrzyma' are both perfective futures with negation, expressing that the snow and frost will not manage to persist.

  Cultural context

  This proverb contrasts with others about Saint Catherine's Day, reflecting the folk belief that an early winter is often a weak one.

  Intermediate

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