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  What it means

  “In Poland only fish don’t take bribes.” A shorter, punchier variant of the same sardonic saying about corruption. The omission of “podobno” (apparently) makes the statement even more blunt.

  Vocabulary

  • ryba — fish
  • brać — to take (here: to accept bribes)
  • tylko — only

  Grammar note

  'Nie biorą' is the third-person plural negated present of 'brać'.

  Cultural context

  A cynical proverb about corruption; the shorter form is the more commonly quoted version.

  Intermediate

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