Country Dictionary

There are five separate pronunciations for "potrzebie," all of which are wrong.

The name of a spoof system of weights and measures once described in Mad magazine. Also the name of one of the units. The article was written by Donald Knuth. Yes, this is apparently the same Donald Knuth who went on to develop the TEX typesetting system and write the multivolume opus "The Art of Computer Programming".

1000 potrzebies = 1 kilopotrzebie

in need

(Polish), v. - "I want" or "I need", depending on context. Used as an all-purpose nonsense word by U.S. humor publication, Mad Magazine. The pronunciation indicated for this definition is the correct one.

There is no real English example of the word "potrzebie", as those who made it famous in America (writers of Mad Magazine) used it pretty much without rhyme or reason.

An entity permeated by the ethereal exudations of Moxie.

Whon thotte Aprylle swythyn Potrzebie,
The burgydde Pryllye gyves one hebijebie.

Hungary has goulash;

Poland has potrzebie

What? Me wary? I survived on a diet of potrzebie.

Hmmm..after reading all of the above I'm not really sure what the exact definition is...

Once in the background of a MAD Magazine cartoon, I saw a truck with the word "POTCHRAZEBIE" printed on it's side. Yep, that's how it was spelled.