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  What it means

  Literally “to the measure of evil” or “to cap evil,” this phrase means “to make matters worse” or “on top of everything else.” It is used to introduce an additional misfortune that compounds an already bad situation. Poles use it to express exasperation when one problem follows another, implying that things have gone from bad to unbearable. It carries a wry, resigned tone typical of Polish dark humour.

  Vocabulary

  • domiar — excess, added measure
  • złego — of evil/bad (genitive of 'złe')
  • na — to, onto (preposition governing accusative)

  Grammar note

  The phrase uses 'na' governing the genitive 'złego' (from 'złe', neuter adjective used as a noun meaning 'the bad/evil'). 'Domiar' is an archaic noun meaning 'excess measure,' making the full construction formally 'as an excess measure of bad things.' It functions as an adverbial phrase and can open or interrupt a sentence.

  Cultural context

  This is a neutral-to-formal phrase found in journalism and literature as well as everyday speech. It has a slightly old-fashioned flavour compared to the more colloquial 'na dodatek' (on top of that), which makes it sound more emphatic and literary. The closest English equivalents are 'to make matters worse' or 'to add insult to injury.'

  Intermediate

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