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Scams and the people who run them: shady deals, hidden catches, and being taken for a ride — the words to have ready before you pick up an unknown number.
przekręt
noun · masculine, colloquial
- EN
- a scam, a racket, a shady deal
- RU
- афера, махинация
Ta promocja to jakiś przekręt.
That special offer is some kind of scam.
From przekręcić, to twist: the deal has been turned the wrong way. A przekręt can be anything from a rigged raffle to a national scandal.
wałek
noun · masculine, slang
- EN
- a scam, a con
- RU
- развод, кидалово
Uważaj, to jest wałek na BLIK-a.
Careful, it's a BLIK scam.
Also a roller or a rolling pin. In slang, robić wałki is to run scams or shady deals. Very common and very informal.
metoda na wnuczka
phrase · noun, feminine
- EN
- the grandchild scam
- RU
- схема 'внук в беде'
Babcia prawie dała się nabrać na metodę na wnuczka.
Grandma nearly fell for the grandchild scam.
A caller poses as a grandchild in trouble and asks for cash. The pattern na + noun names the variant: na policjanta for the impersonated role, na BLIK-a for the payment app being exploited.
frajer
noun · masculine, colloquial, derogatory
- EN
- a sucker, a mug
- RU
- лох
Nie dam się zrobić w konia jak jakiś frajer.
I won't be taken for a ride like some sucker.
An insult for anyone naive enough to be used. Russian фраер overlaps — among its slang senses is the outsider and easy mark — but лох is the closer everyday match.
naciągacz
noun · masculine, colloquial
- EN
- a con man, a swindler
- RU
- мошенник, разводила
Uważaj na naciągaczy pod dworcem.
Watch out for con men outside the station.
From naciągać, to stretch — and to con: naciągnąć kogoś na pieniądze. The person, the stretch, and the money that goes with it.
wciskać kit
phrase · verb, imperfective, colloquial
- EN
- to feed someone a line, to try to make them swallow a lie
- RU
- вешать лапшу на уши
Nie wciskaj mi kitu, wiem, że byłeś na piwie.
Don't give me that, I know you were out for a beer.
Kit is putty, pressed into a crack to hide it. Russian hangs noodles on your ears; Polish plasters over the gap. Negated, the putty goes genitive: nie wciskaj kitu.
pic na wodę
phrase · noun, masculine, colloquial
- EN
- eyewash, a sham, a load of rubbish
- RU
- липа, туфта, пыль в глаза
Te certyfikaty to pic na wodę.
Those certificates are a sham.
Often extended to pic na wodę, fotomontaż. It dismisses something as a sham: impressive to look at, empty inside.
zrobić kogoś w balona
phrase · verb, perfective, colloquial
- EN
- to con someone, to make a fool of someone
- RU
- надуть, развести
Sprzedawca zrobił nas w balona.
The seller conned us.
Literally 'to make someone into a balloon'. Russian надуть inflates the victim too — the two languages agree that a swindled person is full of air.
haczyk
noun · masculine
- EN
- a catch (hidden snag)
- RU
- подвох
Za darmo? Gdzie jest haczyk?
Free? What's the catch?
A fish hook, the thing inside the bait. Gdzie jest haczyk? is the sentence you say before signing anything that looks too good.
podpucha
noun · feminine, slang
- EN
- a set-up, a trick to provoke or trap someone
- RU
- подстава, провокация
Nie odpisuj, to na pewno podpucha.
Don't reply, it's definitely a set-up.
From podpuszczać, to egg someone on. A podpucha is bait: a message, a question or a dare built to make you bite. Dać się podpuścić is to fall for it.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten