• Listen

  What it means

  “From a strap to a little goat.” A variant of the escalating-theft proverb where the stolen animal is a goat rather than a horse. The meaning is identical: small thefts lead to bigger ones.

  English equivalent

  He that will steal an egg will steal an ox.

  Vocabulary

  • rzemyczek — small strap, thong (diminutive of rzemień)
  • koziczek — little goat (diminutive of kozioł/koza)

  Grammar note

  Genitive case after 'od' and 'do'. The diminutive '-czka' ending on 'koziczka' maintains the rhyme and sing-song quality of the proverb family.

  Cultural context

  A regional or alternative variant of the more common 'od rzemyczka do koniczka'. The swap of horse for goat reflects local agricultural contexts.

  Beginner

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!