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  What it means

  Literally: “to pull out one’s own veins” — a visceral image of tearing oneself apart with effort. Figuratively, “wypruć sobie żyły” means to work oneself to exhaustion, to give absolutely everything one has to a task, often for little reward or recognition. The phrase stresses the self-destructive intensity of the effort. It is frequently used with a tone of bitter resignation: “Wyprułam sobie żyły dla tej firmy, a i tak mnie zwolnili” (“I worked my veins out for that company and they fired me anyway”).

  Vocabulary

  • wypruć — to pull out, to rip out (perfective; from pruć — to unstitch, to rip)
  • sobie — to/for oneself (dative of the reflexive pronoun)
  • żyły — veins (accusative plural of żyła — vein)

  Grammar note

  'Sobie' is the dative reflexive pronoun indicating that the action is done to oneself — it functions as an indirect object expressing the person affected. 'Żyły' is in the accusative plural as the direct object of 'wypruć'. The perfective form 'wypruć' marks a completed, exhausting effort; the imperfective 'wypruwa(ć) sobie żyły' describes an ongoing pattern of overworking.

  Cultural context

  This is a vivid colloquial expression with a slightly dramatic register, common in complaints about unfair working conditions, thankless tasks, or relationships where one person gives everything. It is similar in tone to the English 'to work one's fingers to the bone' or 'to give blood, sweat, and tears'. Used across Poland in informal and semi-formal speech.

  Intermediate

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