banana man

A synonym for the word banan [Eng. banana] or bananowa młodzież [Eng. banana youth]. It refers to a person who comes from a wealthy family and leads an entertaining, lavish, and carefree lifestyle. Since a banan doesn’t have to care about money, their trademark is expensive branded clothes, shoes, and notebooks with the Oxford logo.

The word appeared as early as the 1970s and referred to young people, benefiting from the social and financial position of their parents, who had the privilege of eating (then unavailable on a daily basis) bananas and enjoying other luxury goods. These goods could be purchased at foreign exchange stores – Pewex, established in 1972. Bananas bought at Pewex aroused envy and emphasized the financial status of the person who had purchased them.

Examples of usage:

1. have you seen the new man in the neighbourhood? He’s got two pretty good cars. – Yeah, he’s a banana man [bananowiec], https://www.miejski.pl/slowo-Bananowiec

2. and what, did mata* work banana man [bananowiec] ????? hahaha he got it all, “ha ha ”https://glamrap.pl/mata-zdissowany-przez-zawodnika-diil-gangu

3. hehe, i’m laughing at all banana people [bananowcy] who fall for the provocation and defend that faggot Mata xD, “Mata” “ha ha ”https://glamrap.pl/mata-zdissowany-przez-zawodnika-diil-gangu.

4. Patointelligence. The cry of a “banana child” [bananowe dziecko], not the voice of the generation, https://klubjagiellonski.pl/2019/12/16/patointeligencja-krzyk-bananowego-dziecka-a-nie-glos-pokolenia.

* a Polish rapper

[The quotations have been translated from the Polish language]