• Listen

  What it means

  A situation where both sides get what they want. It describes a good outcome in which no one has to give up anything important.

  English equivalent

  Have your cake and eat it too.

  Vocabulary

  • wilk — wolf
  • syty — full, satiated
  • owca — sheep
  • cały — whole, unharmed

  Grammar note

  These are nominative phrases: 'wilk syty' means 'the wolf is full,' and 'owca cała' means 'the sheep is whole.' The verb 'jest' is left out, as often happens in proverbs.

  Cultural context

  It uses the familiar wolf and sheep relationship to describe a balance that seems impossible but is very desirable.

  Beginner

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