• Listen

  What it means

  For company, the Gypsy let himself be hanged. It is said of someone who follows others into a foolish or dangerous situation just to avoid being left out.

  Vocabulary

  • towarzystwo — company, companionship
  • dać się — to let oneself, to allow oneself
  • powiesić — to hang
  • Cygan — Gypsy, Roma (historical folk usage)

  Grammar note

  'Dał się powiesić' uses the reflexive 'dać się' with an infinitive and means allowed himself to be hanged.

  Cultural context

  A darkly funny warning against blindly following others. Cygan, referring to Roma people in old folk usage, appears often as a stock figure in Polish proverbs.

  Intermediate

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!