Hiobowa wieść
Listen
What it means
Literally “a Job’s tidings.” It means terrible news: devastating information that brings suffering or despair, like Job’s afflictions in the Bible.
Vocabulary
- hiobowy — of Job / Job-like (adjective)
- wieść — tidings / news (literary)
Grammar note
'Hiobowa' is a feminine adjective agreeing with 'wieść'. 'Hiobowa nowina' also has the same meaning.
Cultural context
This reference comes from the Book of Job, well known in Poland's Catholic culture. It is used in journalism and formal speech for catastrophic news.
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!
More Polish idioms
- Literally "one's whole life flew past before the eyes," this phrase describes the vivid, involuntary …
- Literally "for an example," na przykład is the standard Polish phrase for "for example" or "for …
- Literally "in the last/recent times," ostatnimi czasy is a common temporal phrase meaning "lately," …
- Literally "in the manner of Judas," this adverb describes acting in a treacherous, backstabbing way …