Lit. “mustard after dinner” which means that a key/desirable element of your meal is being delivered too late and does not make any sense on its own, as no one eats spoonfuls of mustard. This can be roughly translated as “too little too late” and if somebody direct this comment at you, they no longer have use of what you bring now and are unhappy with your performance.
Lit. “Filipino disease”. It is a playful way to say that somebody is currently drunk or even, an alcoholic. This expression was brought to life in 2007 following a speech by former Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski on an election rally. The politician made some comical remarks and his speech was not fully coherent.
Taking into account a couple other occasions on which Kwaśniewski had had similar problems, some journalists hinted that he was simply drunk. He himself rejected the accusations on a press conference and admitted taking a medication against a mysterious disease contracted during a visit to the Philippines, which he said causes the dizziness as a side-effect. Most of the public did not believe him and journalists have coined the expression and used it whenever a politician looks tipsy.
Lit. “black mafia” which in Poland does not refer to an African criminal organization but to the Catholic Church. It is by far the largest religious community in the country and has a strong presence and influence on public life, especially in rural areas. Catholic priests wear black cassocks as their everyday work suits hence the expression. It has a strong negative overtone to it and is mainly used by quite numerous Polish anticlericals when criticizing the Church’s alleged wealth, hypocrisy and interference in politics.
Lit. To “kick the calendar” and figuratively (as well as colloquially and ironically): to die. Jerzy Bralczyk, an expert in Polish language, traces the expression back to the fact that a calendar is no longer needed by a dead person hence she or he can kick it away. Don’t use it when talking to a deceased’s friends or relatives – it would be highly disrespectful.
Lit. “ass-cover”. This noun is a recent addition to Polish language and means an action or an object that covers your ass in case of an emergency. It is widely used in the offices of Warsaw’s Służewiec (a.k.a. “Mordor”) business district and usually refers to an Email that you send to another party to say what may (and probably will) go wrong if they don’t remediate a risk or to confirm in writing what you have agreed upon in a previous meeting/call. This neologism consists of two words: “dupa” (ass) and “-chron” (protector), the latter being as well used in the word “piorunochron” (lightning rod) while the “piorun” means “lightning”.
The word may also refer to legal disclaimers that we know all to well from various Terms and Conditions, contracts and medication pamphlets.
