sobie a muzom

Polish

Etymology

Literally, “for myself and [the] Muses,” from the poem Muza (The Muse) by Jan Kochanowski:

Sobie śpiewam a Muzom: bo kto jest na ziemi
Coby serce ucieszyć chciał pieśniami memi?

I sing for myself and the Muses: for who is there on earth
Who would like to please their heart with my songs?

The phrase is of ancient origin and is mentioned by Cicero (as mihi cane et Mūsis (“sing to me and the Muses”)) in his work Brutus, said to have been spoken by Antigenidas of Thebes to his disciple whose performance, despite being good, was received coldly by the audience.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɔ.bjɛ a ˈmu.zɔm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Syllabification: so‧bie a mu‧zom

Adverb

sobie a muzom (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) for oneself, for one's own pleasure

Further reading

• sobie a muzom in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• sobie a muzom in Polish dictionaries at PWN