Kłaść głowę pod ewangelię
Listen
What it means
Literally “to lay one’s head under the Gospel.” Means to swear solemnly, to vouch for something with absolute certainty, staking one’s honor or life on it.
Vocabulary
- kłaść — to lay, to put
- głowa — head
- ewangelia — Gospel
Grammar note
Uses the imperfective 'kłaść' (to lay/put) with the accusative 'głowę' and locative 'pod ewangelię'.
Cultural context
Rooted in the Christian tradition of swearing oaths on the Bible. Placing one's head on the Gospel symbolizes the ultimate pledge of truthfulness.
Advanced
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 …