Wczoraj było jutro
The night out and the morning after: house parties, drinking rituals, memory gaps and regrets — and the leg that needs its own drink.
domówka
noun · feminine, colloquial
- EN
- a house party
- RU
- домашняя вечеринка
W sobotę robimy domówkę, wpadaj.
We're having a house party on Saturday, drop by.
From dom, home. You robić domówkę and wpadać na domówkę — and it is good form to bring something rather than arrive z pustymi rękami.
flaszka
noun · feminine, colloquial
- EN
- a bottle; (colloquially) a bottle of vodka
- RU
- пузырь, бутылка
Kupiliśmy flaszkę i zakąski.
We bought a bottle and some snacks.
An old Germanic borrowing, related to German Flasche. Unqualified, a flaszka usually means vodka, though flaszka wina is perfectly normal too.
na drugą nóżkę
phrase · colloquial
- EN
- another drink 'for the other leg'
- RU
- ещё по одной, на вторую ножку
Jeszcze jeden na drugą nóżkę i idziemy.
One more for the other leg, and then we're off.
You have drunk to one leg, so the other one needs its share or you will limp. Unlike Russian на посошок, it does not mean you are leaving — only that the glass is empty again.
wypić bruderszaft
phrase · verb, perfective
- EN
- to drink to first-name terms
- RU
- выпить на брудершафт
Wypiliśmy bruderszaft i od tej pory mówimy sobie po imieniu.
We drank to first-name terms and have used first names ever since.
The same German ritual as in Russian, minus the na: arms linked, glasses emptied, then you are on ty. The dry version is przejść na ty.
mieć w czubie
phrase · verb, imperfective, colloquial
- EN
- to be tipsy, a bit merry
- RU
- быть навеселе, под хмельком
Wujek już ma w czubie, zaraz zacznie śpiewać.
Uncle's already a bit merry, he'll start singing any minute.
Czub is the crown of the head — the drink has gone to the top. Milder than zalany: w czubie still sings, zalany sleeps under the table.
zalać się w trupa
phrase · verb, perfective, colloquial
- EN
- to get blind drunk
- RU
- напиться в стельку
Na weselu szwagier zalał się w trupa.
At the wedding my brother-in-law got blind drunk.
Literally 'to flood yourself into a corpse'. Russian drinks itself into an insole, Polish into a body. Zalany on its own is colloquial for very drunk.
urwany film
phrase · noun, masculine, colloquial
- EN
- a blackout, a memory gap
- RU
- провал в памяти (после пьянки)
Od północy mam urwany film.
Everything after midnight is a blank.
The film snapped, and part of the evening was never recorded. Also as a verb: urwał mi się film.
suszy mnie
phrase · verb, imperfective, impersonal, colloquial
- EN
- I'm parched (after drinking)
- RU
- у меня сушняк
Ale mnie suszy, gdzie jest woda?
I'm so parched, where's the water?
Impersonal, like Russian сушит: 'it dries me'. The same root gives Russian its noun сушняк; Polish keeps the verb and the complaint.
klin
noun · masculine, colloquial
- EN
- the hair of the dog (a morning-after drink)
- RU
- опохмел
Wujek twierdzi, że najlepszy na kaca jest klin.
My uncle claims the best cure for a hangover is the hair of the dog.
Literally a wedge, from klin klinem — a wedge drives out a wedge, as Russian клин клином вышибают. Poles say the proverb and do the drinking; doctors disagree.
kac moralny
phrase · noun, masculine
- EN
- guilt after something you did, a 'moral hangover'
- RU
- угрызения совести, стыд за содеянное
Po wczorajszej imprezie mam kaca moralnego.
After last night's party I'm cringing at myself.
The headache is kac; this is the other one — remembering what you said. It has escaped the bar: you can have kac moralny after an angry email.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten