• Listen

  What it means

  Literally “to suck out of a finger.” This idiom is used when someone tells a lie, makes up a story, or invents a fact that has absolutely no basis in reality. It suggests that the information was “manufactured” rather than observed.

  Vocabulary

  • ssać / wyssać — to suck
  • palec — finger
  • kłamstwo — a lie

  Grammar note

  'Z palca' uses the genitive case after the preposition 'z' (from). 'Wyssać' is the perfective verb, indicating the finished act of invention.

  Cultural context

  If you catch someone in a lie, you might ask: "Skąd to wziąłeś? Wyssałeś to sobie z palca?" (Where did you get that? Did you pull it out of thin air?).

  Beginner

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!