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  What it means

  “On Saint Agnes’s Day the nappies will dry; on Saint Agatha’s Day even the rags will dry.” Agnes, on 21 January, brings enough warmth to dry fine laundry. Agatha, on 5 February, brings enough to dry coarse rags too, so spring is moving closer.

  Vocabulary

  • Agnieszka — Agnes
  • pieluszka — nappy, diaper
  • Agata — Agatha
  • szmata — rag, cloth
  • uschnąć — to dry out

  Grammar note

  'Uschną' is third-person plural future. Both 'Świętej Agnieszki' and 'świętej Agaty' are genitive forms. 'I' here means 'even'.

  Cultural context

  The proverb pairs two February saints (Agnes 21 Jan, Agatha 5 Feb) to trace the gradual warming of late winter in the Polish folk calendar.

  Intermediate

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