# around the block



## NotNow

Is there a way to tell a driver _to go around the block_?  If not, how do you tell a driver to go a short distance and then return to where he started?

Thanks.


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## Kamila_Poland

to go around - *iść* (if we're talking about the driver - *jechać*)* dookoła* but I'm not sure if that's what you mean...


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## BezierCurve

"Proszę objechać ten blok." = "Go around this block please."


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## Thomas1

NotNow said:


> Is there a way to tell a driver _to go around the block_?  If not, how do you tell a driver to go a short distance and then return to where he started?
> 
> Thanks.


NotNow, what exactly do you mean by 'block'? Reading your post I assumed it was an area limited by consecutive cross streets; however, reading the other poster's answer I see it's a block of flats. Also, do you want the driver to go a short distance, stop by at some place and then return by going around the block? 

Anyway, a full sentence would be very helpful.


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## NotNow

BezierCurve said:


> "Proszę objechać ten blok." = "Go around this block please."


 
I thought the word _blok _refers to an apartment complex.

I am referring to a city block, an area defined by four streets.  This link has a diagram:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_block

Here's a hypothetical situation:  I have to run into a store forr just a minute.  There is nowhere to park, so I tell the driver to just go around the block.  That means to make four turns and return to where we are now.


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## Thomas1

Yes, 'blok' means 'a block of flats' in Polish.

I think you could say:
Skoczę na chwilę do sklepu a ty przejedź parę/4 razy dookoła (bo nie ma gdzie zaparować). (That's what would be used in a casual setting.)


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## NotNow

Thomas1 said:


> Skoczę na chwilę do sklepu a ty przejedź parę/4 razy dookoła (bo nie ma gdzie zaparować). (That's what would be used in a casual setting.)


 
Thanks, Thomas. That doesn't exactly roll off the lips.  Let's forget a translation; what would a native speaker say in such a circumstance?


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## Thomas1

Well, you took the words out of my mouth.  Not sure, it's not a situation that you face often in Polish conditions; Warsaw, for one, isn't so evenly divided like New York. Besides people often turn on the hazard lights and leave the car in the street or park it at a bus stop.

Anyway, 
Muszę skoczyć do slepu, wyrzuć mnie tutaj i przyjedź (z powrotem) za 5-10 minut.
is something that springs to my mind and sounds quite plausible.


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## BezierCurve

"Wysiadam; proszę zrobić kółko i spotkamy się tutaj."

is the shortest thing I could think of. Wait for others' ideas though.

And sorry for confusing you with the "blok" thing, I was obviously wrong to assume you meant a block of flats.

EDIT: Sorry, posted shortly after Thomas.


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## Kos

This is a quite common expression in English, but its a bit hard to translate to Polish. When I think of "going around the block", "killing time" comes to mind. When you tell someone "I'm running to the store quick. Either wait outside or take a ride around the block", its basically telling that person to waste some time by driving around. As for the Polish part, the verbs "szwendać się" and "włóczyć się" come to mind, but I'm not a native polish-speaker, so I'm not sure if these verbs are suitable choices. Maybe the verb "kąrnąć się" might be of use?


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## NotNow

I realize now that my original posting should have been more detailed.  The situation described above occurs in an American city.  The driver does not speak English, and we talk to each other informally because we are related.


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## BezierCurve

Then I'd go for: "Wysiadam; zrób kółko i wróć." 

As for "karnąć się" - I'd rather say "pojeździj w pobliżu", as "karnąć się" is almost exclusively used in the context of trying out someone else's bike (rarely a car) among teenagers.


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## Thomas1

BezierCurve said:
			
		

> Then I'd go for: "Wysiadam; zrób kółko i wróć."


I am also familiar with 'zrób rundkę (dookoła)' for 'zrób kółko'.

I think there may not be any fixed phrase in such a situation. People  probably think something up on the spur of the moment or simply say 'zatrzymaj się przy sklepie na chwilę (bo...)' and simply leave the driver who will decide what to do because he is driving the car and knows best how to behave.


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## NotNow

BezierCurve said:


> zrób kółko.


 
This is very close to being a literal translation because people sometimes say _circle the block_.

Thanks.


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