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  What it means

  “Don’t charge at the sun with a hoe.” A warning against taking on tasks or opponents that are far beyond one’s abilities. Don’t overreach or attempt the impossible.

  English equivalent

  Don't bite off more than you can chew.

  Vocabulary

  • porywać się — to rush at, to take on recklessly
  • motyka — hoe (a farming tool)
  • słońce — sun

  Grammar note

  'Z motyką' is the instrumental case — 'with a hoe'. 'Na słońce' uses the accusative after 'na' indicating direction/target.

  Cultural context

  The image of a peasant swinging a hoe at the sun captures the absurdity of hopeless overambition in a vivid, rural Polish way.

  Intermediate

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