Nie ma rodu bez smrodu
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What it means
“There’s no family without a stench.” Every family has its shameful secrets, black sheep, or embarrassing members. No lineage is entirely clean.
English equivalent
Every family has a skeleton in the closet.
Vocabulary
- ród — family, lineage, clan
- smród — stench, bad smell
Grammar note
'Rodu' and 'smrodu' are both genitive forms used after 'nie ma' and 'bez' respectively. The rhyme between 'rodu' and 'smrodu' makes this memorable.
Intermediate
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