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  What it means

  “It’s a bad bird that fouls its own nest.” Said of someone who speaks ill of their own family, community, or country — betraying those closest to them.

  English equivalent

  It's an ill bird that fouls its own nest.

  Vocabulary

  • ptak — bird
  • gniazdo — nest
  • plugawić — to defile, to foul, to sully
  • swój — one's own

  Grammar note

  'Co' here is a relative pronoun meaning 'that/which'. 'Swe gniazdo' is an archaic/poetic form of 'swoje gniazdo' (its own nest), accusative.

  Intermediate

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