• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “in neutral gear / idling.” Means doing nothing productive, spinning one’s wheels — “in neutral,” “idling,” “going nowhere.”

  Vocabulary

  • jałowy — barren, idle, neutral (gear)
  • bieg — gear, run, course

  Grammar note

  'Na jałowym biegu' uses the locative of 'jałowy bieg' after 'na' — state.

  Cultural context

  A car engine running in neutral — making noise and burning fuel but going nowhere. A perfect image of unproductive activity.

  Intermediate

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