ItalianItaly
The Italian Dictionary of Food Related Expressions
A collection of all words and expressions in Italian that are related to food or eating.
A
B
C
M
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man de puina
[cottage-cheese hand]
Exclamation used to slightly insult someone who has dropped something or usually drops things.
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mangiarsi le mani
[eat your hands]
When you regret not doing something
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mas'cio
This word literally means male pig. It is used for insulting a disgusting person, to indicate that a person is eating too much, or (more directly) to talk about male pigs.
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mica pizza e fichi
[not just a pizza with figs]
Used to indicate that something is not cheap, trivial or simple, but actually special in some way. Pizza and figs were typically cheap lower-class foods, so something not being pizza with figs means that it is not lower-class.
P
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papagna
That sleepy feeling that you get after eating a good and abundant meal. The origin of the word comes from a infuse made of poppy, the flower, that gives you this sensation.
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pizzata
A pizza-based lunch or dinner organized with a group of friends in a restaurant, often to celebrate something.
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provolone
The first meaning is a type of cheese typically produced in Southern Italy. It's also a term used to address a guy keen on flirting with any woman around him.
R
S
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Sei scemo o mangi i sassi?
[Are you stupid or do you eat stones?]
Rhetorical question that implies someone is really stupid. After all, eating stones is not the smartest thing to do, is it?
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Sputa il rospo
[spit the toad]
To urge someone to speak their mind or tell about something with no restraints; to spill the beans.
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schiscetta
[little squash]
Word used in the Milanese dialect to refer to a lunchbox carrying food for school/university/work.