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  What it means

  Literally “to get hit in the pocket,” this idiom means to suffer a financial loss, to take a financial hit, or to be left out of pocket. It describes the sting of unexpected or unavoidable expense — a fine, a price rise, a bad deal, or an economic shock. The “pocket” is the universal symbol of personal finances. Poles use this expression widely whenever discussing anything that costs more than expected or drains savings.

  Vocabulary

  • dostać — to get, to receive (perfective)
  • po — in, on, across (preposition; here meaning 'a blow to')
  • kieszeń — pocket (noun, feminine)
  • kieszeni — pocket (locative/genitive singular of kieszeń)

  Grammar note

  The preposition *po* followed by the locative case (*kieszeni*) here expresses the target of a blow — a pattern used in several Polish idioms of receiving harm: *dostać po głowie* (to get hit on the head), *dostać po nosie* (to get a bloody nose, figuratively to be rebuffed). The perfective *dostać* indicates a completed event with immediate impact.

  Cultural context

  A very common, neutral-register idiom appropriate for everything from news broadcasts to kitchen-table complaints. It gained particular frequency during periods of economic hardship and price hikes. Politicians and journalists reach for it often. The English equivalents are 'hit in the wallet,' 'take a financial hit,' or 'feel it in your pocket.'

  Beginner

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