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  What it means

  “Where wood is chopped, chips fly.” Any significant action has side effects or collateral damage. You can’t do big things without some mess or unintended consequences.

  English equivalent

  You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.

  Vocabulary

  • drwa — firewood (archaic plural)
  • rąbać — to chop, to hew
  • wióry — wood chips, shavings
  • lecieć — to fly, to go flying

  Grammar note

  'Drwa' is an archaic plural form of 'drewno'. 'Rąbią' is third-person plural present of 'rąbać'.

  Cultural context

  Rooted in the everyday rural image of chopping firewood, a universal task in traditional Polish households.

  Intermediate

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