• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “drunk as a cobbler,” this vivid simile means extremely drunk — completely intoxicated. It is used to describe someone who has had far too much to drink and is visibly inebriated. The comparison to a cobbler (shoemaker) is an old Polish folk association between the trade and heavy drinking, possibly because cobblers historically worked with leather-softening agents that contained alcohol.

  Vocabulary

  • pijany — drunk (adjective)
  • jak — like, as (comparison particle)
  • szewc — cobbler, shoemaker (noun, m.)

  Grammar note

  'Pijany' is an adjective agreeing with the subject in gender, number, and case: 'pijana jak szewc' (she is drunk as a cobbler), 'pijani jak szewcy' (they are drunk as cobblers). The comparison uses 'jak' + nominative noun. This is the standard pattern for Polish simile constructions.

  Cultural context

  This is a very colloquial and colourful expression. It is not vulgar but is informal — best used among friends rather than in polite or professional settings. The cobbler association appears across several Slavic languages, suggesting an old folk stereotype of the hard-drinking craftsman. English equivalents include 'drunk as a skunk,' 'blind drunk,' or 'plastered.'

  Beginner

Noticed a typo, a wrong translation, or anything that doesn't look right? We'd love to fix it — just let us know via the contact page. Thank you!