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  What it means

  Literally “When the cat is away, the mice frolic,” this idiom means that when the person in authority is absent, those under their control misbehave, relax the rules, or do as they please. The image of mice playing freely the moment the cat disappears perfectly captures the dynamic of subordinates taking advantage of their supervisor’s absence. Poles use it about children when parents are away, employees when the boss is out, or students when the teacher leaves the classroom.

  Vocabulary

  • gdy — when (conjunction)
  • kot — cat
  • mysz — mouse (plural: myszy)
  • harcować — to frolic, to romp, to run wild
  • nie ma — is not here, is absent (negated existential)

  Grammar note

  'Gdy kota nie ma' uses genitive case for 'kota' because negated existential constructions ('nie ma') require the genitive: 'nie ma kota' (the cat is not here). 'Myszy harcują' is a simple subject-verb clause: nominative plural subject 'myszy' with imperfective verb 'harcują'.

  Cultural context

  This is the Polish equivalent of the universal English proverb 'When the cat's away, the mice will play.' It is widely known and used across all ages. The phrase is completely neutral and fits any register from casual conversation to written commentary. It often appears with a wry or amused tone.

  Beginner

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