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  What it means

  “Both the thief who steals and the one who holds the ladder for the thief are thieves.” Complicity in wrongdoing makes you equally guilty. There is no innocent bystander when you actively assist a crime.

  English equivalent

  The receiver is as bad as the thief.

  Vocabulary

  • złodziej — thief
  • kraść — to steal
  • drabina — ladder
  • trzymać — to hold

  Grammar note

  'Co kradnie' and 'co trzyma' are relative clauses using 'co' (colloquial relative pronoun). 'Złodziejowi' is the dative of 'złodziej' (for the thief).

  Cultural context

  A legal and moral principle expressed in folk form. Equivalent to the concept of being an accessory to a crime.

  Intermediate

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