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cursing.in curse like a local

Polish · Frustration & Fatalism

zdzierstwo

ZJEHR-stfoh · /ˈzd͡ʑɛr.stfɔ/

A rip-off / highway robbery.

1/5 Grandma-safe

mild, playful; fine on daytime TV

Literally

"a skinning (from zdzierać — to strip/flay)"

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

How to use it

From zdzierać, to strip or flay: zdzierstwo is pricing as skin removal. "Dwadzieścia złotych za kawę? Zdzierstwo!" is the required response to tourist-district menus, and saying it correctly earns immediate local solidarity — sticker-shock is a Polish conversational genre. Grandma-safe 1. Related: "złodziejstwo" (thievery, stronger) and the verb phrase "zdarli ze mnie" (they flayed me). Deploy at Kraków's main square, hourly.

Heard in the wild

Osiemnaście złotych za wodę na plaży? Zdzierstwo.

Eighteen zloty for water at the beach? Highway robbery.

Where it lands

Poland (universal)

Quick answers

What does "zdzierstwo" mean?
In Polish, "zdzierstwo" means "A rip-off / highway robbery.". Literally it's "a skinning (from zdzierać — to strip/flay)". From zdzierać, to strip or flay: zdzierstwo is pricing as skin removal. "Dwadzieścia złotych za kawę? Zdzierstwo!" is the required response to tourist-district menus, and saying it correctly earns immediate local solidarity — sticker-shock is a Polish conversational genre. Grandma-safe 1. Related: "złodziejstwo" (thievery, stronger) and the verb phrase "zdarli ze mnie" (they flayed me). Deploy at Kraków's main square, hourly.
Is "zdzierstwo" 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 "zdzierstwo"?
Say it "ZJEHR-stfoh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈzd͡ʑɛr.stfɔ.

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. szlag SHLAHK Damn it — 'szlag by to trafił' = may a stroke strike it. do dupy doh DOO-pih Crap / worthless / it sucks.

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Outrageously expensive".

how to say "Outrageously expensive" →

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