Idiom USED Frequently BY Everyone
(to not have liver) • This expression is used when someone shows fear and it simply means to be afraid of something.
"Martina non si tufferebbe mai da quella roccia: non ha fegato!" "Ci vuole fegato per tuffarsi da quella roccia!"
"Martina would never dive from that rock: she has no liver! "It takes liver to dive from that rock!"
Expression USED Frequently BY Everyone
(to flip the omelette) • Used when who is guilty of something tries to push accusations back on who is accusing them.
"Mi hai tradito!" "Solo perché tu non mi davi attenzioni!" "Non rigirare la frittata, è colpa tua!"
"You cheated on me!" "Just because you weren't giving me attention!" "Don't flip the omelette, it's your fault!"
Trentino dialect
| Trentino
Province of Trento,
Italy
Expression USED On Rare Occasion BY Older Generations
(the drunk death) • It's used to indicate someone who looks sick, pale, and/or malnourished as if just a step away from fainting. You would say it directly only if you know the person very well; otherwise, it would be rude and offensive.
"Oh vecio cosa t'elo successo? Te mpari la morte mbriaga!" "Tasi valá... L'è do dì che no dormo!"
"Oh man, what happened to you? You look like the drunk death!" "Oh shut up... I haven't been able to sleep for two days!"
Submitted December 2020 by anonymous
Trentino dialect
| Trentino
Province of Trento,
Italy
te sta come 'n fior su na recia
Standard Phrase USED On Occasion BY Older Generations
(It fits you like a flower on the ear) • It's used ironically when someone does something that causes a bad consequence for him/herself. It's like saying "You brought it on yourself".
"Mama me son taiá! Ero drio a dugar coi curtei e me n'è cascá uno sul pie!" "Ben! Te sta come 'n fior su na recia!"
"Mum, I cut myself! I was playing with knives and one fell on my foot!" "Well! It fits you like a flower on the ear!"
Submitted December 2020 by anonymous
Ci sta come i cavoli a merenda
Expression USED On Occasion BY Everyone
(It fits like cabbages as a snack ) • Something doesn’t fit or match at all.
"Che ne pensi di questa borsa con queste scarpe?" "No amo, ci sta come i cavoli a merenda,"
"How about this bag with these shoes?" "No honey, it's like having cabbages as a snack."
Word USED On Occasion BY People Over 40
(noun) • A turncoat, someone who changes opinion/position/ideas in order to gain some benefit.
"Quel tizio ha completamente cambiato idea pur di non perdere il posto, è proprio un voltagabbana."
"That guy completely changed his mind to avoid being fired, he's a real turncoat."
Chi ha i denti non ha il pane e chi ha il pane non ha i denti
Proverb USED On Rare Occasion BY Everyone
(Who has teeth has no bread and who has bread has no teeth) • It means that some people have talents and ambitions but no opportunity to realise them and some others have means (usually financial resources) but no aspirations to realise. It is used both to feel sorry for a talented person who can't afford what they want and to criticise a person who has occasions that they don't deserve.
"Maria parla benissimo l'inglese ma non più permettersi il viaggio a Londra, quindi il suo posto verrà preso da Marco, che non parla una parola di inglese. È proprio vero che chi ha i denti non ha il pane e chi ha il pane non ha i denti!"
"Maria speaks English very well, but she can't afford the trip to London, so her place will be taken by Marco, who doesn't speak a word of English. It is true that who has teeth has no bread and who has bread has no teeth!"
Expression USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone
(as good as bread) • Literally "as good as bread", translates into "as good as gold".
"Quel ragazzo è buono come il pane!"
"That guy is as good as bread!"
te si ndrio come la coa del porco
Expression USED On Occasion BY Mostly old people
(you're as behind as a pig's tail!) • It's used to address someone who isn't very bright or who just acted stupid or made a stupid mistake.
"G'ho coresto drio a l'orso per farghe na foto ma el s'ha girá e 'l m'ha dato na zatada!" "Alora te si ndrio come la coa del porco!"
"I was chasing a bear to take a picture of it, but he turned around and attacked me!" "Then you're as behind as a pig's tail!"
Submitted November 2020 by anonymous
Reference USED On Occasion BY Everyone
(big pumpkin) • This is what adults say to children when they don't to understand something.
"Un'altra insufficienza! Sei proprio uno zuccone a scuola eh!"
"Another failing mark! You really are a big pumpkin at school huh!"
Expression USED Frequently BY Everyone
(to be with hands in hand) • It corresponds to the English “to sit on someone’s hands”. It’s used to refer to someone who isn’t doing anything, especially at the moment of speaking.
"Non posso starmene con le mani in mano mentre i cittadini protestano per le strade."
"I can’t stand with my hands in hand while the citizens are protesting in the streets,"
Expression USED On Occasion BY Everyone
(Let the eye dance) • It's a way to push someone to "move his eyes", to be very careful about something.
"Quella strada è molto trafficata, fa' ballà l'oeucc quando attraversi!"
"There's a lot of traffic on that road, let the eye dance when you cross it!"
Slang USED Frequently BY Young People
(in the ass of the wolves) • Used to describe a place that's very far or hard to reach.
"Andiamo alla festa di Manuel stasera?" "Oh no, abita in culo ai lupi!"
"Shall we go to Manuel's party tonight?" "Oh no, he lives in the ass of the wolves!"
Expression USED On Occasion BY Everyone
(Go to Baggio to play the organ) • Baggio was a small town close to Milan. The legend says that the parish was so poor that they couldn't even afford an organ for the church, and so had one painted on the wall. So, inviting someone to go to Baggio to play the organ, is like asking to go waste their time somewhere else.
"Non so cosa fare!" "Va' a Bagg a sonà l'orghen!"
"I don't know what to do!" "Go to Baggio to play the organ!"
Submitted November 2020 by iltozzo
Word USED Frequently BY Everyone
(noun) • Since the end of World War II, it's used by Northern Italians to call immigrants from the South. It derives from the world "terra" (land), because while the North was industrialised, the Southern economy was still based on agriculture and landowning.
"Sono nato a Palermo, vivo a Milano solo da un paio d'anni." "Oh, allora sei un terrone!"
"I was born in Palermo, I've been living in Milan just for a couple years." "Oh, so you're a terrone!"
Italian
Lombardy and Tessin,
Italy and Switzerland
Dopo sette fette, ha capito che era polenta
Proverb USED On Rare Occasion BY Mostly old people
(After seven slices, s/he realized it was polenta) • Used to describe someone who realizes something obvious, especially after doing the same thing in a more long or difficult way for a long time.
"Ieri mio fratello ha scoperto che può sbloccare il suo telefono con l'impronta digitale." "Beh, dopo sette fette ha capito che era polenta!"
"Yesterday my brother discovered he can unlock his phone with his fingerprint." "Well, after seven slices he realized it was polenta!"
Il bue che chiama cornuto l'asino
Expression USED On Occasion BY Everyone
(The ox calling the donkey horned) • It can be said to someone who accuses someone else when they're not innocent in the first place. For example - not being able to keep a secret and accusing someone else of being untrustworthy.
"Non sai mantenere un segreto!" "Io?! Tu hai rivelato i miei segreti a tutti. Addirittura, il bue che chiama cornuto l'asino."
"You cannot keep a secret!" "Me?! You told my secrets to everyone. The ox calling the donkey horned."
Neapolitan
| Italian
Naples,
Italy
Name USED On Occasion BY Almost Everyone
(a ricotta cheese maker) • In Neapolitan, an Italian dialect, we say “ricuttàro” referring to someone that takes advantage of other people/ a slacker. The origin of this term is linked to the fact that ricotta is obtained from the waste of milk processing, therefore it’s a product that is obtained without any effort.
“Non hai ancora sistemato la tua stanza? Si nu’ ricuttàro!”
“Haven't you tidied up your room yet? You’re a slacker!”
Submitted November 2020 by anonymous
Slang USED Very frequently BY Almost Everyone
(fennel) • The word literally means "fennel" but, if directed to men, it's an homophobic insult like "faggot".
"Luca è molto attraente, peccato che sia un finocchio."
"Luca is really good looking, too bad he's a fennel."
Word USED On Rare Occasion BY Everyone
(noun) • (broccoli ) • "Broccolo" is what you would call someone who is good for nothing and doesn't have any skills. Also someone who is stupid and dumb.
"Non ho parole... Sei un broccolo!"
"I'm speechless... You are a broccoli!"