• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “to take oneself by the collars,” this idiom means to tackle something head-on, to grapple with a problem, or to confront someone. Originally from wrestling (bary = collars/shoulders one grabs in a grapple), it now describes any determined, direct engagement with a challenge or adversary. Example: “Czas wziąć się za bary z tym problemem” — “It’s time to grapple with this problem.”

  Vocabulary

  • brać się — to get oneself going, to tackle (reflexive)
  • za — for, by (preposition governing accusative)
  • bary — collars, shoulders (wrestling term; accusative plural)

  Grammar note

  The reflexive brać się za governs the accusative case. The plural bary here is a wrestling term referring to the collar-and-elbow grip. The perfective counterpart wziąć się za bary is used for a single decisive act of confrontation. Both aspects are common depending on context.

  Cultural context

  The idiom comes from traditional folk wrestling. Today it is neutral to informal in register and is used both literally (a physical fight) and figuratively (confronting a task or rival). The English equivalents include 'to tackle,' 'to grapple with,' or 'to take the bull by the horns.'

  Intermediate

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!