Pomroczność jasna
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What it means
Literally “bright obscurity,” this is a legal and psychological term for a state of clouded consciousness — a brief episode where a person acts without full awareness or rational control. In everyday speech it is used ironically when someone claims they didn’t know what they were doing, serving as a convenient excuse for foolish or regrettable behaviour.
Vocabulary
- pomroczność — obscurity, dimness, clouding (of the mind)
- jasna — bright, clear (adjective, feminine form)
Grammar note
A noun phrase: pomroczność (feminine noun, nominative) + jasna (feminine adjective, nominative). The apparent contradiction — bright obscurity — is intentional.
Cultural context
The term appears in Polish criminal law as a defence of diminished responsibility, which is why it is often invoked satirically after someone does something foolish and then claims ignorance.
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