POLAND . The Unofficial Guide	Unanswered \| Archives
POLAND . The Unofficial Guide	Poland Now and Then	Witamy, Guest \| PF Members \| Gold Members

Polish Forums / Free Translation /

Coś za coś?

posts: 12

Polonius3Threads: 1,005 Posts: 4,833 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Oct 9, 10, 15:43 #1
Coś za coś is such an ideal phrase to indicate that everything has its consequences; if you achieve one thing then it is usually at the expense of something else. Any good translation?

1jolaThreads: 33 Posts: 2,737 Joined: Sep 23, 08 ♂	Oct 9, 10, 16:37 #2
Quid pro quo?

Polonius3Threads: 1,005 Posts: 4,833 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Oct 9, 10, 17:00 #3
Quid pro quo is OK but a bit eggheady. Coś za coś even a simple peasant can understand. Any other suggestions?

1jolaThreads: 33 Posts: 2,737 Joined: Sep 23, 08 ♂	Oct 9, 10, 17:24 #4
A$$, gas, or grass, but nobody rides for free. Simple enough? :)

strzygaThreads: 4 Posts: 985 Joined: Apr 30, 08 ♀	Oct 9, 10, 18:13 #5
No such thing as a free lunch. Or: you gain some, you lose some.

Polonius3Threads: 1,005 Posts: 4,833 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Oct 10, 10, 12:37 #6
I've also heard it as 'win some, lose some'.... However none of these convey precisely the same notion as 'coś za coś'. In prose it would be: whatever you achieve you do so at the expesne of something else. Pig out on sweets and your teeth go bad, live above your means and your headed for trouble, ...etc. I fully realise no two languages can precisely translate every idea or feeling.

♂

Oct 10, 10, 12:53 #7

'quid pro quo' is completely wrong, it refers to giving (someone) something in order to get something.

the meaning P3 is looking for might better be

'there's no gain without pain' (rephrased to make a famous ad slogan)

'there ain't no such thing as a free lunch' (or variants thereof)

'every rose has it's thorns'

'be careful what you wish for'

all of which have the idea of getting something and either losing something in the process (or finding out it wasn't so great after all).

in British (not US) usage there's might be '(there's) no show without punch' but that (also? instead?) seems to have the meaning 'when it rains it pours'

alexw68	Oct 10, 10, 13:10 #8
A bit churchy, but - 'the Lord giveth and He taketh away'?

MagdalenaThreads: 5 Posts: 1,389 Joined: Aug 15, 07 ♀	Oct 10, 10, 13:38 #9
You can't have your cake and eat it too.

♂

Oct 10, 10, 21:49 #10

Quid pro quo (From the Latin meaning something for something coś za coś) indicates a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services.

English speakers often use the term to mean:
a favor for a favor
and the phrases with almost identical meaning include:
what for what,
give and take,
tit for tat,
this for that, and
you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours.

♂

Oct 11, 10, 09:07 #11

AdamKadmon:

uid pro quo (From the Latin meaning something for something coś za coś) indicates a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services.

There's an interesting semantc shift going on in American English where 'quid pro quo' has acquired a very negative meaning (not originally present) and as a result is now mostly used in reference to political wheeling and dealing (and bribery and the like).

AdamKadmonThreads: 38 Posts: 1,120 Joined: Apr 23, 10 ♂	Oct 11, 10, 09:21 #12
mafketis: There's an interesting semantc shift going on in American English Quid pro quo = coś za coś In Polish there is no semantic shift. As you can see Polish is Latin but sounds a bit different.

Home / Free Translation /

Unanswered [this forum] | Similar

translation help? Peace, Love, Happiness.

translation of an english sentence - "Turn pain into progression"

Random: Does Poland have the most prehistorical banking system in the whole world?

Only registered and logged-in users may post here. Please log in or register.

45 [Guests - 34 / Members - 11] users on live forums now

Home \| Unanswered \| Archives \| Random \| Statistics	Time in Poland: 12:05 / May 26
About Us \| Contact Us \| Rules, Privacy \| Poland Advertising	© 2005-12 PolishForums.com