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  What it means

  “Don’t threaten, don’t threaten, or you’ll soil yourself.” A blunt, vulgar retort to someone who makes empty threats. The implication is that the person doing the threatening is actually the one who is scared.

  English equivalent

  All bark and no bite.

  Vocabulary

  • straszyć — to threaten, to scare, to bluff
  • zesrać się — to defecate oneself (vulgar)

  Grammar note

  'Nie strasz' is the negative imperative of 'straszyć'. 'Zesrasz' is the second-person singular future of the vulgar reflexive verb 'zesrać się'.

  Cultural context

  A deliberately crude folk saying. Its vulgarity is part of the point ; it deflates pompous threats with earthy humour.

  Intermediate

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