# Zmruż uczy



## jacquesvd

Dear all,

Above is the header of a very positive review of a CD and I’m afraid now I misunderstand “zmruż uczy’ which I thought to mean something like ‘press your ears together’  but I always thought that pressing your ears together meant to say ‘shut your ears’ so that you don’t have to hear. This is impossible with the positive review following.
 
So, what exactly does this "zmruż uczy" then say: prick your ears to hear better? 
 
Thanks


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## Thomas1

Hello, Jacques,

it's a play on words. We say either: zmrużyć oczy which means squint your eyes or zatkaj uszy, shut your ears; though the latter is not a fixed expression, I'd say. Nadstawić uszu is another option and it is rather stock in comparison to the earlier wording I gave, it means to prick up your ears.


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## BezierCurve

Also "zmruż oczy" is quite often used in the sense of "go to sleep", "dream away". That might work here fine as a play on words with _ears_, provided the music is sort of helping you to get into such a dreamy mood.


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## jacquesvd

Thomas1 said:


> Hello, Jacques,
> 
> it's a play on words. We say either: zmrużyć oczy which means squint your eyes or zatkaj uszy, shut your ears; though the latter is not a fixed expression, I'd say. Nadstawić uszu is another option and it is rather stock in comparison to the earlier wording I gave, it means to prick up your ears.


 
Thanks, but a strange combination anyway: The same verb for 'squint' and 'prick up'. I wonder now if Polish has an expression for the French: 'dormir sur ses deux oreilles' which, I suppose is literally impossible but nevertheless a standing expression meaning that you can go to sleep without having to worry at all (Vous pouvez dormir bien tranquillement, sans soucis). Translated it should be something like 'Spać na dwóch uszach or perhaps ‘spać na obie uszach' (or is obie also declined?)


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## jacquesvd

BezierCurve said:


> Also "zmruż oczy" is quite often used in the sense of "go to sleep", "dream away". That might work here fine as a play on words with _ears_, provided the music is sort of helping you to get into such a dreamy mood.


 
Thanks, so "zmruż oczy" is what you would say to children when you finish reading them a fairy tale?
'Zmrużyć oczy' is then also what you would do against the blinding of the sun (in German: die Augen zusammenkneifen)?
 
Przekrój seems to be full of play on words: they must be good journalists.


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## Thomas1

jacquesvd said:


> Thanks, but a strange combination anyway: The same verb for 'squint' and 'prick up'. I wonder now if Polish has an expression for the French: 'dormir sur ses deux oreilles' which, I suppose is literally impossible but nevertheless a standing expression meaning that you can go to sleep without having to worry at all (Vous pouvez dormir bien tranquillement, sans soucis). Translated it should be something like 'Spać na dwóch uszach or perhaps ‘spać na obie uszach' (or is obie also declined?)


Zmruż only means "squint", not "prick up". Prick up translates as "nadstaw" (in this particular context). I would be inclined towards the first one, because *Zmruż uczy *differs only in one letter. Uczy can be either oczy or uszy. Since the expression is zmruż oczy and not zmruż uszy it is the more likely interpretation. Besides, you would need a good context to use the latter one, because it doesn't make sense.

Judging by your definition of "dormir sur ses deux oreilles" I think we would say "spać spokojnie" which literally translates as "dormir tranquillement, sans soucis". 

There is an expression in Polish "spać na oba uszy/boki", but it has a slightly different meaning than the French expression you've provided. It means  to sleep very soundly, so that few things may wake you up. "dormir sur ses deux oreilles/côtés" is a literal translation. Also, bear in mind that these two are hardly ever used in Modern Polish, at least I have never heard them. A comment from other Polish speakers will be appreciated, of course.  Normally, we will use "spać jak zabity/zarżnięty (very colloquial)/suseł" literally "dormir comme un tué/abbatu/gaufre". In English, you say "to sleep like a log" and in French "dormir comme une souche". 



BezierCurve said:


> Also "zmruż oczy" is quite often used in the sense of "go to sleep", "dream away". That might work here fine as a play on words with _ears_, provided the music is sort of helping you to get into such a dreamy mood.


This is new to me, I must admit, Bezier. I remember "oczka zmruż" from a lullaby/berceuse. I seem to dimly remember it also from a dobranocka... I would expect to hear it in a context in which a parent wants her/his kid to go to sleep. And usually, it would be a toddler, not older than 8-10 years old (though, that may be subjective and a very personal matter, of course). 


jacquesvd said:


> Thanks, so "zmruż oczy" is what you would say to children when you finish reading them a fairy tale?


It may be. However, I would use then the diminutive of "oczy", i.e. "oczka".


> 'Zmrużyć oczy' is then also what you would do against the blinding of the sun (in German: die Augen zusammenkneifen)?


Yes. This is a very good context in which you can use this formulation.


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## BezierCurve

> This is new to me, I must admit, Bezier.


 
We have a bit different idiolects then, that's possible, especially that I heard it too often from my girlfriend... But I guess "Nie mogłem zmrużyć oka" (= "I couldn't sleep at all") sounds familiar to most of Polish speakers?

EDIT:



> they must be good journalists.


 
I think so. I like their style of writing. And once you can deal with it, you can deal with any Polish newspaper.


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## jacquesvd

Thomas1 said:


> There is an expression in Polish "spać na oba uszy/boki", but it has a slightly different meaning than the French expression you've provided. It means to sleep very soundly, so that few things may wake you up. "dormir sur ses deux oreilles/côtés" is a literal translation. Also, bear in mind that these two are hardly ever used in Modern Polish, at least I have never heard them. A comment from other Polish speakers will be appreciated, of course.  Normally, we will use "spać jak zabity/zarżnięty (very colloquial)/suseł" literally "dormir comme un tué/abbatu/gaufre". In English, you say "to sleep like a log" and in French "dormir comme une souche".


 
"spać na oba uszy" but why not 'spać na obach uszach': there doesn't seem to be any action or motion toward something. In German, where the exact same expression exists as in French 'auf beiden Ohren schlafen' not the accusative but the Dative is used.  That's, of course, no reason but I would like to know why Polish sees this differently.

'Dormir comme une souche' or 'to sleep like a log' merely describe the depth of your sleep; "dormir sur ses deux oreilles" means that you can sleep tranquilly because there is nothing to worry about--- obviously the more tranquil your conscience the less the risk that you can't catch sleep and the better the chance that you sleep deeply, but strictly speaking you can have an extremely tranquil mind and still be a 'light' sleeper'  

Thanks for all your help and explanation.


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## Thomas1

BezierCurve said:


> We have a bit different idiolects then, that's possible[...]


That's quite possible. I have been also thinking about using it in other contexts, and come up with a similar context to yours. Trouble is that this is even less common and more personal than the context with parent-child talk.



> But I guess "Nie mogłem zmrużyć oka" (= "I couldn't sleep at all") sounds familiar to most of Polish speakers?[...]


Sure.


jacquesvd said:


> "spać na oba uszy" but why not 'spać na obach uszach': there doesn't seem to be any action or motion toward something. In German, where the exact same expression exists as in French 'auf beiden Ohren schlafen' not the accusative but the Dative is used.  That's, of course, no reason but I would like to know why Polish sees this differently. [...]


Well, Jacques, it seems like you've opened a can of warms.


  Hm… to me spać na oba uszy means that both of your ears sleep (this is of course to be taken figuratively), which is why nobody can wake you up. If you say spać na ob*u* uszach, then it means that you literally sleep on (your) both ears, say you unfastened them and they are between your back and the bed sheet.

  Well, German has this differentiation with some prepositions, auf including, where you use the dative with stative verbs (read it as verbs expressing rather stative action), and the accusative with dynamic verbs (read it as verbs of movement). It works a bit differently in Polish, I think. Our na can be used either with the locative or with the accusative. Let’s take some examples:
  Na oba uszy functions as an adverbial of manner
  Na obu uchach functions as an adverbial of, say, place

  Na obiad – describes what you have *for dinner*.
  Na obiedzie  -- describes who is *at a dinner*.

  Załóż skarpetę na nogę. (the accusative) Put the sock on your leg.
  Połóż skarpetę na nodze. (the locative) Put the sock onto your leg.
  I am not even sure these two correctly show the difference in English. The first one tells you that you have to put the the sock around your leg, that your leg goes inside the sock. The second one says that the sock is literally put on (the top of)  your leg.

  There are too many possibilities to give you a general answer that would apply nicely to a plethora of examples you can come across. I only hope the difference in this particular case is clear.


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