Meaning:
Lit. “to put a stick into the spokes”. To obstruct or prevent execution of a certain plan. Often by means of a treacherous action. As demonstrated by the famous Bike Fall Meme. But with a different person handling the stick.
Category: Politics
Kresy
Meaning:
Lit. “the fringes”, or more detailed, “kresy wschodnie” is a nostalgic term for the eastern areas of the Second Polish Republic which during after World War II were taken over by Soviet Union and now belong to Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania.
Śpioch
Meaning:
Lit. “a spleepyhead” is an agent embedded in an organisation who is inactive and waiting for a task when the time comes.
Chodzić na pasku
Meaning:
Lit. “to walk on a belt” is meant to say that a person is highly dependent on another one and has to follow his/her orders, cannot take any independent decisions.
Ciepła woda w kranie
Meaning:
Lit. “warm water in the tap” is a phrase coming from Polish politics and used almost exclusively in that area. It describes a policy concentrating on economic development which should make the citizens comfortable and happy – as opposed to big words, empty phrases that don’t make a Jan Kowalski any happier.