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Sailing close to the wind, sailing against the wind and swimming against the tide. English idioms and their Polish equivalents.

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Sailing close to the wind and sailing into the wind or sailing against the wind are related phrases.  Before we consider their idiomatic use, they are primarily sailing terms.  All refer to the practice of sailing up wind, at an angle, with the sail close-hauled.  Sailing close to the wind is where the angle taken into the wind is so acute, that you are almost on the point of being fully into the wind and risk losing all the wind in the sails, leaving them flapping around and the boat left without power.  This is why "sailing close to the wind" is used idiomatically to mean taking a risk.  Doing something that risks a negative outcome. Sailing into the wind / sailing against the wind are interchangeable terms both in sailing and idiomatically.  As an idiom, sailing against the wind is doing something difficult or perhaps doing something against the advice of others.  Although if you want to describe doing something against prevailing opinion, doing something in a way co

Popełnić - to commit an act (eg: a blunder)

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 Popełnić (pf)  (♂) Popełniłem błąd - I made a mistake / error (♀) Popełniłam gafę - I have made a gaffe (♂) Popełnił morderstwo - he committed murder (♀) Popełniła przestępstwo - she committed an offence (♂+♂/♀...) Popełnili samobójstwo - They committed suicide [They including a male] (♀+♀...) Popełniły ...                  - They committed... [They being all female]

Zauważyłem, że - I've noticed that... Also Wpadać - to bump into someone

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Notes on conversational phrases. Quite often, in conversation, or to start off I conversation, I might say "I've noticed that..." The polish equivalent is - (♂)   Zauważyłem, że...                                                     (♀)   Zauważyłam, że... So, recently, I was talking to a woman about music and when she spoke about dancing, her face lit up and she looked so happy.  The next time I bumped* into her I said - Zauważyłem, że wyglądasz szczęśliwa, gdy mówisz o tańcu . "I've noticed that you look happy when you talk about dancing." [The locative form follows the preposition o ] *To bump into someone.  There is a similar expression in Polish.  I think, literally, it means to fall into someone.  It is: - Wpadać na kogoś  and the person or thing you bump into takes the accusative form.  Please note: I'm a chap, so below I am using the masculine form of the past tense for wpadł e m , if a woman is telling us she bumped into someone, she says wpad

Unexpected word in the bagging area: reklamówka - carrier bag

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From duolingo, I learned that a bag is torba in Polish. However, I was stumped in a Polish shop when this was not the word used when I was offered a carrier bag. Torba is, perhaps, a more suitable word for a handbag kind of bag.  For a carrier bag  it's reklam ówka, jednorazówka or foliówka . Reklamówka may remind you of the word for advertising.  I believe the word, reklamówka , came about because carrier bags advertised the name of the store, but even plain carrier bags can be called reklamówka . Jednorazówka  comes from is disposable nature, its single, one-time use. Foliówka  comes from the thin nature of the bag.  Plastic film and metal foils are folie , folia singular, foliowy being the adjective. Siatka (maybe most common) Siateczka Zrywka Worek / worek foliowy Woreczek / woreczek foliowy Torba Torebka Tytka (used in Poznań) Epa / epka (used in katowice) Click here for a useful video on this subject