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cursing.in curse like a local

Polish · Frustration & Fatalism

szlag

SHLAHK · /ʂlak/

Damn it — 'szlag by to trafił' = may a stroke strike it.

1/5 Grandma-safe

mild, playful; fine on daytime TV

Literally

"a stroke / apoplexy (from German 'Schlag')"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

A German loan (Schlag, a stroke) powering the most elegant curse-shapes in Polish: "szlag by to trafił!" (may apoplexy strike it), "szlag mnie trafia, jak to widzę" (I have a stroke every time I see this), "niech to szlag!" (damn it all). Grandma-safe 1 with a pleasingly literary flavor — anger routed through 19th-century medicine. When something finally breaks for good, "coś trafił szlag" — the printer has been struck down.

Heard in the wild

Szlag by to trafił, znowu korki na moście.

Damn it all, traffic on the bridge again.

Where it lands

Poland (universal)

Quick answers

What does "szlag" mean?
In Polish, "szlag" means "Damn it — 'szlag by to trafił' = may a stroke strike it.". Literally it's "a stroke / apoplexy (from German 'Schlag')". A German loan (Schlag, a stroke) powering the most elegant curse-shapes in Polish: "szlag by to trafił!" (may apoplexy strike it), "szlag mnie trafia, jak to widzę" (I have a stroke every time I see this), "niech to szlag!" (damn it all). Grandma-safe 1 with a pleasingly literary flavor — anger routed through 19th-century medicine. When something finally breaks for good, "coś trafił szlag" — the printer has been struck down.
Is "szlag" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
How do you pronounce "szlag"?
Say it "SHLAHK" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ʂlak.

Related in Polish

cholera kho-LEH-rah Damn / darn it — the respectable person's curse. no weź! noh VESH Oh come on! / Give me a break! wkurwiony fkoor-VYOH-nih Pissed off / furious. kurwica koor-VEE-tsah Blind fury / a rage fit — 'mieć kurwicę' is to be seething. do dupy doh DOO-pih Crap / worthless / it sucks. chujowy khoo-YOH-vih Shit-tier / terrible — the vulgar bottom of the quality scale.

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Damn".

how to say "Damn" →how to say "Tough luck" →

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