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  What it means

  Literally “to scheme/struggle like a horse going uphill,” this colourful idiom describes working extremely hard to find a way around a problem, often through improvised or slightly devious means. ‘Kombinować’ in Polish carries the sense of working out an angle, finding a workaround, or bending the rules to make something happen. The horse straining uphill adds the image of great, laborious effort. Poles use it to describe someone who is desperately improvising or over-complicating things to solve a problem that could be simpler.

  Vocabulary

  • kombinować — to scheme, to figure out a workaround, to improvise (colloquial)
  • koń — horse (nominative singular)
  • pod górę — uphill, against the slope (literally 'under the hill')

  Grammar note

  The verb 'kombinować' is imperfective, conveying an ongoing process of scheming or struggling. The comparative clause 'jak koń pod górę' uses 'jak' (like/as) to introduce the simile. 'Pod górę' is a fixed adverbial phrase (preposition + accusative) meaning uphill.

  Cultural context

  This idiom belongs to a broader family of Polish horse metaphors, reflecting the historical importance of horses in rural Polish life. 'Kombinować' is a key colloquial verb in Polish — understanding it unlocks a lot of everyday speech about getting things done creatively. The tone is mildly humorous and sympathetic. Register is informal.

  Intermediate

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