Of course, none of the the "Polish" proverbs smug, urbane freelance insurance investigator Thomas Banacek was so fond of spouting in the popular 1972-74 NBC television series were actually Polish -- they were whipped up by the writers. Possibly after a long lunch.

In fact, even "Banacek" isn't really a Polish name -- it's more likely to found in Slovakia, not Poland.

But hey, it was great fun while it lasted. In fact, there's an old Polish proverb that says...

• "If you're not sure that it's potato borscht, there could be orphans working in the mines."
  
  
• "A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a Unicorn."
  
  
• "Read the whole library, my son, but the cheese will still smell after four days."
  
  
• "Twelve good horses and silver candlesticks won't stop the snow from falling in Bialystock."
  
  
• "It's harder for the spider to catch the fly, than for the fly to catch the horse."
  
  
• "Only someone with nothing to be sorry about smiles at the rear of an elephant."
  
  
• "Even though a man anoints himself with fragrant oils, he can still wind up with a broken face."
  
  
• "When the wolf is chasing your sleigh, toss him a raisin cookie but don't stop to see if he eats it."
  
  
• "Only the centipede can hear all the footsteps of his uncle."
  
  
• "If the butterfly has teeth like the tiger, he'd never make it out of the hanger."
  
  
• "A wolf that takes a peasant to supper probably won't need any breakfast."
  
  
• "Just because a dress is red satin doesn't mean it comes off easily."
  
  
• "A wise man never tries to warm himself in front of a painting of a fire".
  
  
• "Though the hippopotamus has no stinger in his tail, the wise man would rather be sat on by the bee."
  
  
• "When an owl comes to a mouse picnic, it's not there for the sack races."
  
  
• "No matter how warm the smile on the face of the sun, the cat still has her kittens under the porch."
  
  
• "The chicken that clucks the loudest is the one most likely to go to the Steamfitter's Picnic."
  
  
• "Though the hippopotamus has no sting on its tail, the wise man would still rather be sat on by a bee."
  
  
• "Twelve good horses and silver candlesticks won't stop the snow from falling in Bialystock."
  
  
• "A duck with three wings and a loaf of bread is brother to the turkey."
  
  
• "Even a thousand szloty note can't tapdance."
  
  
• "If your socks are not in your shoes, don't look for them in Heaven."