Meaning:
Lit. “with/through a Cracow deal”. Which means to reach a compromise by both sides giving up a part of what they initially demanded. Poles often use this expression to propose a solution to a standoff in smaller or bigger negotiations.
Mieć zryty beret
Meaning:
Lit. “to have a scratched beret”. As in: a scratched car. The beret represents someone’s head or brain and the expression is used to poetically say that a person is really crazy, fully unpredictable. Which might be a consequence of substance use.
Mydło i powidło
Meaning:
Lit. “soap and jam” which rhyme nicely in Polish and constitute the frequently used term for a wide array of various unrelated things.
Dopychać kolanem
Meaning:
Lit. “to push with one’s knee”. To make things fit by force. Or, more metaphorically, use one’s influence to make something happen which shouldn’t really happen, which is forbidden or opposed by a majority.
Wozić drewno do lasu
Meaning:
Lit. “to carry/drive timber to the forest”. This expression is used when someone brings some specific product to where it is already plenty of it or where it is of a much higher quality. To bring sand to the beach.