Żenada i obciach
Gossip and disapproval. The grapevine runs on slippers, and żenada, obciach and wiocha are three different shades of cringe — none of them wstyd.
plotka
noun · feminine
- EN
- a piece of gossip; a rumour
- RU
- сплетня; слух
To tylko plotka, nikt tego nie potwierdził.
It's just a rumour, nobody has confirmed it.
One word where RU splits сплетня and слух: the malicious story about a person and the unconfirmed news are both plotka. Plotki in the plural is gossip as an activity, and a plotkara is the woman who runs it.
poczta pantoflowa
phrase · noun, feminine
- EN
- the grapevine, word of mouth
- RU
- сарафанное радио
O zwolnieniach wiedzieliśmy z poczty pantoflowej, zanim ogłosił je zarząd.
We heard about the layoffs on the grapevine before the board announced them.
Literally 'slipper mail': news passed on from person to person. Picture neighbours chatting at the door in slippers. Russian runs the same service as сарафанное радио.
obgadywać
verb · imperfective, + acc.
- EN
- to talk behind someone's back
- RU
- обсуждать за спиной, перемывать кости
Obgadują ją za plecami od miesiąca.
They've been talking about her behind her back for a month.
The -ywać imperfective of obgadać, which cuts both ways: obgadać kogoś is to badmouth them, obgadać sprawę is to talk a matter through. Za plecami, behind the back, is the adverb that comes with it.
wścibski
adjective
- EN
- nosy, prying
- RU
- любопытный (навязчиво), сующий нос
Wścibska sąsiadka pyta o wszystko.
The nosy neighbour asks about everything.
Only ever an insult, where RU любопытный can be a compliment. From wścibiać nos, to stick your nose in. Ciekawski is the gentler version: a little too curious, not yet a problem.
prać brudy publicznie
phrase · verb, imperfective
- EN
- to wash one's dirty linen in public
- RU
- выносить сор из избы
Nie piorę rodzinnych brudów publicznie.
I don't wash our family's dirty linen in public.
Russian carries the rubbish out of the hut; Polish and English do the laundry outside. Also said without publicznie: prać brudy na Facebooku is the modern version.
żenada
noun · feminine, colloquial
- EN
- cringe, an embarrassment
- RU
- стыдоба, позорище
Ale żenada, śpiewał karaoke szefowi.
So cringe, he sang karaoke to the boss.
Second-hand embarrassment, said about somebody else's performance. From żenować, to embarrass, a French borrowing — nothing to do with żenić się, which is to marry. Żenujący is the adjective.
obciach
noun · masculine, colloquial
- EN
- something uncool, a cringe move
- RU
- стрёмно, отстой
Skarpetki do sandałów to obciach.
Socks with sandals are an embarrassment.
The social kind of shame: what you wear, say or listen to that others will judge. Żenada is a scene, obciach is a lapse in taste. Obciachowy is the adjective, and every teenager's parents are it.
wiocha
noun · feminine, colloquial
- EN
- tackiness, a hick move; a village
- RU
- деревня (о безвкусице), колхоз
Ale wiocha, przyszli w garniturach z lat 90.
How tacky, they came in nineties suits.
The augmentative of wieś, a village, used the way RU колхоз is used about taste. Wiocha! is the one-word verdict on anything provincial; for an actual village the same word is mildly rude.
kompromitacja
noun · feminine
- EN
- a public embarrassment, a disgrace
- RU
- позор, публичный провал
Ta prezentacja to była kompromitacja.
That presentation was a disgrace.
RU компрометация lives in spy novels, next to компромат. Polish kompromitacja is everyday: a public failure that damages your standing, and skompromitować się is to make a fool of yourself in front of people.
skandal
noun · masculine
- EN
- a scandal, an outrage
- RU
- скандал (не ссора)
To skandal, że nikt nas nie uprzedził.
It's outrageous that nobody warned us.
Polish skandal is mostly an outrage, public or moral — though a scene at home can be one too. The ordinary domestic row is awantura. To skandal! is the standard complaint about bad service.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten