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  What it means

  Literally “like a scratched/worn-out record,” this idiom describes someone who keeps repeating the same thing over and over — like a vinyl record with a scratch that makes the needle loop endlessly. It is used to express mild frustration with a person (or oneself) who cannot stop harping on the same topic. “Przestań, brzmisz jak zdarta płyta” — Stop it, you sound like a broken record. It is almost always said with some impatience or humor.

  Vocabulary

  • zdarta — worn out, scratched (feminine adjective, from zdrzeć — to wear away)
  • płyta — record (vinyl), disc, slab
  • zdrzeć — to wear away, to scrape off (perfective)

  Grammar note

  'Zdarta' is the past passive participle of 'zdrzeć' used as an attributive adjective, agreeing with the feminine noun 'płyta' in the nominative singular. The phrase 'jak zdarta płyta' functions as a predicative complement: 'brzmisz jak zdarta płyta' (you sound like a scratched record). The adjective would change to 'zdarty' for a masculine noun.

  Cultural context

  The idiom is a direct cultural reference to the era of vinyl records, when a scratch would cause the stylus to skip and repeat a fraction of a second of sound endlessly. Younger speakers may not have personal experience of vinyl, but the phrase remains in active use and is universally understood. Its English counterpart is 'like a broken record.' Register: informal, slightly exasperated.

  Beginner

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