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  What it means

  This refers to a blatant double standard or hypocrisy. It describes a person who thinks it’s bad when someone does something to them, but perfectly fine when they do the same thing to others. “If someone steals Kali’s cow, it’s bad; if Kali steals someone’s cow, it’s good.”

  Vocabulary

  • moralność — morality
  • hipokryzja — hypocrisy
  • krowa — cow (from the original story)

  Grammar note

  'Kalego' is the genitive form of 'Kali' (a masculine name). The phrase is treated as a fixed historical/literary reference.

  Cultural context

  The term comes from a character named Kali in the novel "In Desert and Wilderness" (W pustyni i w puszczy) by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It is one of the most culturally significant idioms in Polish social commentary.

  Intermediate

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