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  What it means

  Literally “to fall like flies,” this expression is used when a large number of people are getting sick or failing at the same time. It draws a grim comparison to how insects die en masse when exposed to cold or poison. You might hear this during flu season or when a particularly difficult exam results in most students failing.

  Vocabulary

  • padać — to fall / to drop (imperfective)
  • mucha — fly (insect)
  • chorować — to be sick

  Grammar note

  The word 'muchy' is in the nominative plural because it is part of a comparison using 'jak' (like). The verb 'padać' is imperfective, which helps visualize the ongoing, repetitive action of many individuals dropping one by one.

  Cultural context

  This idiom is used exactly like the English "to drop like flies." It is a neutral expression found in both casual stories and more serious news reports about epidemics.

  Beginner

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