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Polish · Joy & Zajebiście

sztos

SHTOHSS · /ʂtɔs/

A banger / top-tier / excellent — clean superlative slang.

1/5 Grandma-safe

mild, playful; fine on daytime TV

Literally

"a stack / a hit (card-game and heist slang)"

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

How to use it

Current youth-to-thirtysomething slang for anything excellent: "ta pizza to sztos" (this pizza is a banger), "sztos!" as a one-word verdict. Originally card-shark slang for a con or a big score, now fully mainstream and clean — severity 1, safe in front of anyone who won't be confused by it. Nearby on the shelf: "kozak" (badass — literally a Cossack) and "petarda" (a firecracker of a thing). When zajebisty is too vulgar and "super" too beige, sztos is the word.

Heard in the wild

Nowa płyta? Sztos, słuchałem trzy razy pod rząd.

The new album? A banger — I listened three times in a row.

Where it lands

Poland (universal, under-40 slang)

Quick answers

What does "sztos" mean?
In Polish, "sztos" means "A banger / top-tier / excellent — clean superlative slang.". Literally it's "a stack / a hit (card-game and heist slang)". Current youth-to-thirtysomething slang for anything excellent: "ta pizza to sztos" (this pizza is a banger), "sztos!" as a one-word verdict. Originally card-shark slang for a con or a big score, now fully mainstream and clean — severity 1, safe in front of anyone who won't be confused by it. Nearby on the shelf: "kozak" (badass — literally a Cossack) and "petarda" (a firecracker of a thing). When zajebisty is too vulgar and "super" too beige, sztos is the word.
Is "sztos" 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 "sztos"?
Say it "SHTOHSS" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ʂtɔs.

Related in Polish

zajebisty zah-yeh-BEES-tih Fucking awesome / badass — the great slang-POSITIVE of the jebać family. ekstra EX-trah Great / awesome — the all-ages enthusiasm word. git GEET All good / cool / sorted. zajefajny zah-yeh-FYE-nih Awesome-but-printable — zajebisty with the curse swapped out mid-word. spoko SPOH-koh Chill / no worries / it's fine — the great Polish de-escalator. kurewsko koo-REHF-skoh Fucking [cold / hard / good] — the kurwa root as an intensifier adverb.

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "That's awesome".

how to say "That's awesome" →

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