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  What it means

  Literally “to swallow the bacillus (germ),” this idiom describes catching a bug — but a good one. It means to become enthusiastically hooked on a hobby, passion, or activity, as if infected by it. The image is of a passion spreading through you like a contagious illness. “Połknął bakcyla wspinaczki” means he got bitten by the climbing bug. It is almost always used positively, describing the irresistible pull of a new obsession.

  Vocabulary

  • połknąć — to swallow (perfective)
  • bakcyla — bacillus, germ (accusative of 'bakcyl'); colloquially: a bug, an obsession

  Grammar note

  The verb 'połknąć' is perfective, capturing the moment of 'catching' the obsession. 'Bakcyla' is the accusative singular of 'bakcyl' (a masculine noun). The phrase is typically used with a genitive complement specifying the passion: 'bakcyla czegoś' (the bug of something), e.g. 'bakcyla fotografii' (the photography bug).

  Cultural context

  This is a lively, colloquial expression used in everyday speech, blogs, and lifestyle journalism. It is almost exclusively positive in connotation — unlike English 'bug,' which can be negative. The phrase is widespread in Polish and has no negative register. English equivalents: 'to catch the bug,' 'to get bitten by the X bug,' 'to get hooked on.'

  Intermediate

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