To be drunk like a Pole...
Hello! Today we will discuss the first well-known stereotype about Poles. Let's start!
When we ask a Frenchman about Poland, certainly the first statement about this nation would be that of being drunk like a Pole. Where does this expression come from? The etymology goes back several years and there are some theses on the exact period from which it originated. The most popular is the one we will see briefly. We have to look at the history of the Napoleonic era and even earlier, because in the 17th century, people used to say “drunk like a Swiss”. Then in the period of Napoleon Bonaparte, when the army rested between battles, Polish soldiers drank a lot of alcohol. Such a statement was then a compliment from Napoleon, admiring that Polish fighters could drink and not lose their minds - this expression would actually be a compliment indirectly given by Napoleon. Today, Poland is still associated primarily with alcohol, but this country is not the one that drinks the most alcohol. The nations that often come out on top are the Belarusians, Moldovans, Russians, as well as the Czechs and Slovaks.
This defect was attributed to the Poles a long time ago and to this day it is present, although it is not entirely in accordance with reality. Of course, this does not mean that Poles do not drink alcohol at all or that there is no one who likes to drink large amounts of alcohol, but looking at the nation in general, these people are not the majority.
In the next post, I will tell you about two more stereotypes related to Polish nationality. That's it for today. To the next post! Bye!
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