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  What it means

  Literally “to pipe off,” this verb means to complete a task quickly or carelessly just to be able to cross it off a list. It comes from the word ‘fajka’ (pipe), which is also a colloquial term for a ‘v’ shaped checkmark. Poles use it when they find a task boring or bureaucratic and do the bare minimum required to mark it as “done.”

  Vocabulary

  • fajka — pipe / checkmark (tick)
  • lista — list
  • odhaczyć — to check off (synonym)

  Grammar note

  The prefix 'od-' is used here to denote the completion or "removal" of a task from a mental or physical list. It is a perfective verb, meaning the focus is on the final act of marking the task as finished.

  Cultural context

  In a Polish school or office, 'postawić fajkę' (to put a pipe) means to give someone a checkmark. 'Odfajkować' captures that slightly cynical feeling of doing work only for the sake of the checklist.

  Intermediate

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