• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “Punchinello’s secret.” It means an “open secret”: something officially treated as secret even though everyone already knows it very well. The name comes from Poliszynel (Pulcinella), a Commedia dell’arte character who whispered supposed “secrets” to the audience that were already obvious to everyone on stage.

  Vocabulary

  • tajemnica — secret
  • Poliszynel — Punch / Pulcinella
  • jawny — public / overt

  Grammar note

  'Poliszynela' is the genitive form of the proper noun 'Poliszynel'. In Polish, the genitive is used to denote the "owner" or origin of the secret.

  Cultural context

  This is a formal, somewhat bookish idiom. Using it well suggests strong language and cultural knowledge. It is common in journalism and political commentary.

  Advanced

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!