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  What it means

  Literally “to reach the pavement/cobblestones.” Means to fall into extreme poverty or social disgrace — to hit rock bottom, to end up on the streets. Used of someone who has lost everything: money, status, or dignity.

  Vocabulary

  • sięgnąć — to reach, to touch (perfective)
  • bruk — cobblestones, pavement; the gutter

  Grammar note

  'Sięgnąć' takes the genitive: 'sięgnąć bruku' (genitive of 'bruk'). The perfective aspect marks a completed fall.

  Cultural context

  The image evokes sleeping on cobblestone streets — a vivid symbol of destitution in pre-modern Polish cities.

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