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  What it means

  Literally “to release a duck” or “to let a duck go,” puścić kaczkę means to spread a false rumor, plant a hoax, or float a piece of disinformation. The image is of releasing a duck onto water and watching it drift away — just as a rumor, once launched, travels on its own and cannot be recalled. Poles use this expression when describing deliberate misinformation: tabloid fabrications, political spin, or gossip deliberately planted to mislead. It is the Polish equivalent of “to start a rumor” or “to plant a hoax.”

  Vocabulary

  • puścić — to release, to let go (perfective of puszczać)
  • kaczkę — duck (accusative singular of kaczka)

  Grammar note

  Puścić is the perfective form, emphasising the completed act of launching the rumor into circulation. The imperfective puszczać kaczkę describes the ongoing habit of spreading hoaxes. The direct object kaczkę is in the accusative case (feminine singular -ę ending). The idiom is most naturally used in the past tense: ktoś puścił kaczkę (someone floated a hoax).

  Cultural context

  The related term kaczka dziennikarska (journalistic duck) specifically means a press hoax or a deliberately false news story — a term that predates social media but has gained new relevance. The English word 'canard' (from French for duck) is a near-perfect parallel, as both languages independently chose the duck as a symbol of circulating falsehood. The phrase is informal to neutral in register.

  Intermediate

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