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  What it means

  “If grandma had a moustache, she’d be grandpa.” Used to dismiss pointless hypotheticals — speculating about impossible or irrelevant ‘what ifs’ is a waste of time.

  English equivalent

  If my aunt had wheels, she'd be a bicycle.

  Vocabulary

  • babcia — grandma
  • wąsy — moustache
  • dziadek — grandpa

  Grammar note

  Classic conditional with 'gdyby' + past tense and 'toby' + conditional. 'Była' agrees with 'babcia' (feminine), while 'dziadkiem' is the instrumental of 'dziadek'.

  Cultural context

  One of the most commonly cited Polish proverbs, often used humorously to shut down unrealistic speculation.

  Beginner

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