• Listen

  What it means

  “Uncle swapped the hatchet for a stick.” A bad trade — exchanging something useful for something of lesser value. Used when someone makes a deal that leaves them worse off than before.

  English equivalent

  Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

  Vocabulary

  • stryjek — uncle (father's brother, diminutive)
  • zamienić — to swap, to exchange
  • siekierka — hatchet, small axe
  • kijek — stick, small rod

  Grammar note

  'Siekierkę' and 'kijek' are both in the accusative as direct objects of 'zamienił'. 'Na kijek' uses the accusative after 'na' in an exchange construction.

  Intermediate

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