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  What it means

  Literally “like a fly in tar,” this idiom describes someone who is moving extremely slowly, is bogged down by difficulties, or is completely unable to make progress. It captures the frustrating feeling of being stuck in something thick and sticky. You use it when a project is dragging on or when someone is being particularly sluggish.

  Vocabulary

  • mucha — fly (insect)
  • smoła — tar / pitch
  • powoli — slowly
  • utknąć — to get stuck

  Grammar note

  'W smole' is the locative case of the feminine noun 'smoła.' The phrase often follows the verb 'poruszać się' (to move) or 'robić coś' (to do something).

  Cultural context

  This is a very vivid and slightly negative idiom. It’s the perfect way to express frustration with a slow bureaucracy or a person who just won't "get a move on."

  Intermediate

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