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  What it means

  “For a wise head, two words are enough.” A clever person needs only a brief hint to understand; lengthy explanations are unnecessary for the intelligent. Often used to end a piece of advice concisely.

  English equivalent

  A word to the wise is sufficient.

  Vocabulary

  • mądry — wise, clever
  • głowa — head
  • dość — enough, sufficient
  • słowo — word

  Grammar note

  'Mądrej głowie' is the dative of 'mądra głowa'. 'Dwie słowie' is an archaic dual form of 'słowo'; modern Polish would say 'dwa słowa'.

  Cultural context

  The archaic dual form 'słowie' marks this as a very old proverb. It is still widely recognised and used today.

  Intermediate

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