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  What it means

  Literally: “with cold blood.” This expression describes acting in a calm, controlled, and deliberate manner — without being swayed by emotion. In a positive sense it means cool- headedness under pressure, the ability to think clearly when others would panic. In a more sinister context it implies ruthlessness: doing something cruel without any emotional reaction, as in “he killed in cold blood.” Poles use it in both senses: “działał z zimną krwią” can mean either “he acted with great composure” or “he acted without remorse.”

  Vocabulary

  • z — with (preposition governing instrumental)
  • zimną — cold (instrumental feminine of 'zimny')
  • krwią — blood (instrumental of 'krew')

  Grammar note

  The preposition 'z' governs the instrumental case to express the manner of an action. 'Zimną krwią' is the instrumental of 'zimna krew' (cold blood). The instrumental of 'krew' is irregular: 'krwią' (not '*krewią'), because 'krew' has an inserted vowel 'e' in the nominative that drops in oblique cases. The phrase typically modifies a verb: 'zastrzelił go z zimną krwią' (he shot him in cold blood).

  Cultural context

  The phrase is a calque common across European languages — compare English 'in cold blood', French 'de sang-froid', German 'kaltblütig'. It was likely borrowed into Polish via French in the 18th or 19th century. Register is neutral to formal, and it appears in journalism, literature, and everyday speech. Both meanings (admirable composure, disturbing ruthlessness) are fully established in modern Polish.

  Intermediate

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