złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma

Polish

Etymology

Rhyme, literally, “a Cossack has caught a Tatar, but the Tatar holds his head”. (Tatars were stereotypically tall while Cossacks were short.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈzwa.paw ˈkɔ.zak tataʐɨnaˌ a.taˈta.ʐɨn ˈza.wɛp ˈtʂɨ.ma/
Rhymes: -ɨma

Proverb

złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma

(idiomatic) someone in a conflict situation thinks they have won, but in fact it is the other party that has the upper hand

Further reading

złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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