złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma
Polish edit
Etymology edit
Rhyme, literally, “a Cossack has caught a Tatar, but the Tatar holds his head”. (Tatars were stereotypically tall while Cossacks were short.)
Pronunciation edit
Proverb edit
złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma
- (idiomatic) someone in a conflict situation thinks they have won, but in fact it is the other party that has the upper hand
Further reading edit
- złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma in Polish dictionaries at PWN