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Polish · Insults & Idiots

cykor

TSIH-kor · /ˈt͡sɨ.kɔr/

Chicken / coward.

2/5 Bar-safe

coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances

Literally

"one who ticks (from 'cykać' — to chicken out)"

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

How to use it

From cykać się (to be scared, to chicken out): a cykor is the guy who won't jump, won't ask her, won't order the spicy one. Schoolyard-flavored and bar-safe 2 — it goads more than it wounds, which is exactly its job ("no skacz, nie bądź cykorem" — jump, don't be a chicken). "Mieć cykora" = to have the fear. The genuinely nasty way to question a man's nerve is pizda; cykor is the version you can say in front of his mother.

Heard in the wild

Cykor, nawet nie podszedł do niej.

Chicken — he didn't even go up to her.

Where it lands

Poland (universal); playground-to-bar register

Quick answers

What does "cykor" mean?
In Polish, "cykor" means "Chicken / coward.". Literally it's "one who ticks (from 'cykać' — to chicken out)". From cykać się (to be scared, to chicken out): a cykor is the guy who won't jump, won't ask her, won't order the spicy one. Schoolyard-flavored and bar-safe 2 — it goads more than it wounds, which is exactly its job ("no skacz, nie bądź cykorem" — jump, don't be a chicken). "Mieć cykora" = to have the fear. The genuinely nasty way to question a man's nerve is pizda; cykor is the version you can say in front of his mother.
Is "cykor" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
How do you pronounce "cykor"?
Say it "TSIH-kor" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈt͡sɨ.kɔr.

Related in Polish

skurwysyn skoor-VIH-sin Son of a bitch — a hard, aimed insult with the kurwa root inside. ty kurwo tih KOOR-voh You whore / you bitch — the aimed kurwa, a different animal entirely. debil DEH-beel Moron / idiot — the standard hard 'you idiot.' baran BAH-rahn Idiot / blockhead — the barnyard 'you idiot.' dupek DOO-pek Asshole / jerk — an unpleasant, self-important man. chuj KHOOY Dick / prick — the anatomical heavy hitter, and a productive root of its own.

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Coward".

how to say "Coward" →

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