Italian idioms

Italian proverbs Italian ways of saying. Idioms: A: A lot. Good luck.Cited in Giacomo Devoto, Gian Carlo Oli, Dizionario Devoto Oli della lingua italiana, Le Monnier, Florence, 2004. To heart open. A teeth clenched. With your legs up. A gogo. Broadly speaking. At a rough estimate. At the spur of the moment. Stick. A ufo. Free, free, free. [According to an interpretative hypothesis, the phrase derives from the fact that in ancient times the goods intended for the construction of the great cathedrals were marked with the acronym AUF, Ad Usum Fabricae, and could circulate freely without paying customs duties; the "Fabrica" ​​(construction site), could be, from time to time, the Duomo of Milan, Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence etc.] Get off one's chest. Light a light for the Madonna.Quoted in Elena Donato, Gianni Palitta, Dizionario dei proverbs, L.I.BER. editorial projects, Genoa, 1998. Water in the mouth. Adultery, vituperation. Troubles, ailments. Drowning in debts. Agile like a cat.Quoted in Dictionary of Idioms, Hoepli Editore, dictionary-ways-of-sayings/G/cat.shtml cat. Add the damage to the Mockery. Adjust the shot. Sharpen your wits. At the end the hallelujah is sung. At the end of the psalm the Gloria is sung. To Garibaldi. In the light of the sun. Breeding a snake in your womb.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, .shtml snake. Raise your hands. Raise your hands in the air. Killing beasts and Christians.Cited in Nicolò Tommaseo, Bernardo Bellini, Dizionario della lingua italiana, vol. 1, part II, L'Unione Tipografico-Editrice, Turin, 1865, p. 953. Kill like a dog. Kill like a beast. [It reflects the not yet outdated concept that allows you to kill an animal as such and in the preferred way, without having to account for it.]Quoted in Dictionary of Idioms, Hoepli Editore , ammazzare. Go smoothly. Going there with one leg. Go hunting for crickets. Going to genius. Going to moons. Going to the wedding. Go and plant cabbages. Go to the slaughterhouse. Send to the slaughterhouse. Drift. Go to source. Trace back to the source. Going luxury. Going from bad to worse. To go, to enter, to be in a rage.That is, in anger.Quoted in Vincenzo Tuzzi, Dizionario philosophicalo-pratico della lingua italiana, vol. 1, Minerva, Padua, 1837, p. 304. Meeting one's destiny. Go for wool and return without hair. Going long. Leaving with your tail between your legs. Drowning in fat. Drowning in fat. Swimming in fat. Leap year, funesto year.Quoted in Alfonso Burgio, Dizionario delle superstizioni, Hermes Edizioni, 1993, p. 49 Hang your hat on a nail. Arrive with washed dishes. Getting to frutto.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, shtml fruit. Arrive when the lights go out. Wait for the manna from heaven.Quoted in Dizionario dei Idioms, Hoepli Editore, -dire/M/manna.shtml manna. Wait for divine graces. Having lost the good of the intellect. Having felt the bite of the wolf. Having seen the wolf. Still have baby teeth. Having nerves. Have the St. Vitus ball. Never stand still. [Reference to chorea, a disease that causes people to move convulsively. see Sydenham's Chorea, also called "St. Vitus's dance", on Wikipedia.] Cited in Carlo Lapucci, Per Idiom: Dictionary of idioms of the language Italian, Valmartina Editore, 1969, p. 331. Have your heart on your Lips. Having a poisoned tooth. Have gall in the tongue. Having swallowed the broom handle. Have a guilty conscience. Having Saturday night fever. Have your tongue in your mouth. Having the moon. Having the moon sideways. Having a bad mood. Having the curse on you. Have a happy hand. Have a light hand. Have a heavy hand. Having the sword of Damocles on your head. Having legs that look like Giacomo Giacomo. Having empty hands. Have hands of golden. Have hands made of butter.Quoted in Giovanna Turrini, Understanding the antiphon. Dictionary of idioms with author's examples, Zanichelli, 1995. Having eaten in pot.Cited in Salvatore Battaglia, Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, XII Orad - Pere, Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Turin, 1984, p. 1065. Getting married on a rainy day. Have many Strings on your bow. Have many strings to your bow. Having tow in the brain. Have on the tip of the tongue. Have as much intellect as a poppy head. Having an obsession. Have a devil in your body. Have a devil for hair. Have a lump in your throat. Having a fever from horse. B: Bacchus loves freedom. Dancing like a bear. Dancing with a penny. Be beaten. Teeth chattering. Slamming. Taunt of fate. Ironically. Trick of fate. Beauty of donkey. Beast black. Of a thing or person that arouses strong aversion, antipathy. Forge ahead. Goodnight to the bucket.Quoted in Massimo Castoldi, Ugo Salvi, Words to remember. Dictionary of collective memory, evocative, allusive, metonymic and antonomastic uses of the Italian language, Zanichelli, 2003. Throw sardines to catch pike. C: Fall from the pan into the ember. Fall from the clouds. Good luck. Walking on a silk thread. Walking on eggs. Singing on May. Making May. Sing a Te Deum with the roller organ Spetare, fart loudly.Quoted in Salvatore Battaglia, Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Turin, 1984, p. 78. House of cards.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, .shtml castle. Search left and right. Look for May leaves. Search far and wide. Search for squaring the circle. Look for better bread than wheat. Search by sea and mountains. Look for fifteen in the odd number. Call the figs figs and the cup cup. Close the stable after the oxen have escaped. Pick figs at the top. Command by the wand. Like the devil and holy water. Like the cat and boiled water. Let's start by saying A. With these moonlights ... Know your sheep. well Know the mood of the beast. That is, the tendencies and character (with joking reference) of a person with whom one must deal.Cited in Aa. Vv., Everything: encyclopedic dictionary, vol. 1, De Agostini, Novara, 1965, p. 446. Count as the two of cups. Count as the two of spades. Convinced but not defeated.Quoted in Michela Vittoria Brambilla, Animal rights manifesto, Mondadori, Milan, 2012, p. 134. ISBN 978-88-04-62679-4 Correre alla pot.Cited in Salvatore Battaglia, Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, XII Orad - Pere, Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Turin, 1984, p. 1065. Be very attentive in taking care of your own interests and material needs. Running the leapfrog. Believing in flying donkeys. Believing oneself to be the center of the universe. Believing himself to be the son of the white hen. Believing oneself to be the only rooster in the henhouse. Believing oneself to be an eternal father. D: We know the man from his clothes. Give butter to someone. To bribe or cajole, in exchange for favors. Turn your brain. Drop a cork ship. Give hay to the goose. Give the sheep to guard the wolf. Give a blow to the circle and one to the barrel.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, shot.shtml#20 shot. Juggling an uncomfortable situation so as not to displease anyone; maintain good relations with two parties adverse to each other. Also carrying out several situations, affairs or the like in parallel, which are in themselves conflicting. The saying probably derives from the work of the coopers, who had to simultaneously treat the wood of the barrel staves and the iron that surrounded them, using hammers and mallets as working tools.Explanation from Dictionary of Idioms, Hoepli Editore, colpo. The term cerchiobottismo derives from this way of speaking. Give a finger and get an arm. Run away. Go into hiding. Shooting yourself in the foot. Said, done. Low class. Out of the blue. Defend with teeth. Call it a wrath of God. Disintegrate in tears. Dividing the wheat from the tares. Sleeping at the hotel of the moon. Sleeping at the star hotel. Sleeping like a dormouse.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, D/tormire.shtml to sleep. Sleeping like a bear. Sleep like a rock. Last from morning to evening. Last the space of one morning. E: And not a percent of him is happy. It's as easy as drinking a glass of water. It's as easy as drinking an egg. It's the bird's song. It's the congregation of Saint Andrew: the desire has passed and the idea remains.Quoted in Vezio Melegari, Manuale della barzelletta, Mondadori, Milan, C.E.1976, p. 35. It's the usual chant. He is more of a beast than a Christian. It's easier to advise than to do. Getting involved. Being on horseback. Being in the light. Reduce yourself to a small light. Being in seventh heaven]. Being an article of faith. Being blessed by luck. Being like cat and dog.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, /C/dog.shtml dog. Be like smoke in the eyes. Be like the cat and the fox. Be like the Arabian phoenix. Be like the wandering Jew. Be like the cathedral factory. Being like the factory of Saint Peter. Be like the Madonna of the Seven Sorrows. Be like the three Graces. Be like an open book. Being with a rope around your neck. Being known as the weed. Being of easy virtue. Be of sleeve wide. Being fasting of one thing. Being a woman and Madonna. Being two souls in a kernel. Being made pot and bowl.Cited in Salvatore Battaglia, Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, XII Orad - Pere, Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Turin, 1984, p. 1065. Being dead and buried now. Be happy like a Easter. Being outside yourself. Being mad. Being out of the market. Being the workhorse. Being the devil and the cross. Being the bone of contention. Being high sea. Being involved. Being on the front line. Being four cats. Being the elephant in a porcelain shop. Being the elephant in a glass shop. Being the Blue Fairy. Being the fairy with the blue hair. Being the fairytale of the town. Being the black hen. Be the apple of one's eyes. Being the Pilgrim Madonna. Being the tip of the diamond. Being in Nirvana. Being in the lion's den. Being up someone's sleeve. Being bald like a [[billiard] ball]. Being full as an egg. Being poor in canna.Quoted in Emiliano Picchiorri, The language of Antonio Bresciani's novels, Aracne, Rome, 2008, it/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&redir_esc=y&hl=it&id=jIkLAQAAMAAJ&dq=essere+povero+in+canna&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=canna p. 214. ISBN 9788854820227 Being on the edge of wool. Getting to the wire. Winning by the skin of your teeth. Being broke. Falling broke. Being broke. Thrown out of business. Being broke. Being on the crest of the wave. Being on the spine.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, /S/spina.shtml spina. Being all flowers and pods. Being all Saints and Madonnas. Being a different kettle of fish. Being a devil in the flesh. Being a Pharisee. Being a smart guy with three crushes. Being a Ganymede. Being an wrath of God. Being a closed book. Being a man of little faith. Being a bonanza. Being a leaf in the wind. Being a repentant Magdalene. Being a skewered Madonna. Being a godsend. Being a snake. F: Bronze face.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, face. Cheek. Making castles in the air. Do of necessity virtue. Make eighteen with three dice. Cause fury. Making the eye of mullet. Shedding light on something. Looking with a languid, sweet, enamored expression; even throwing sappy, or winking and allusive glances.Quoted in Dizionario dei Idio di Dire, Hoepli Editore, di-dire/O/occhio.shtml#81 eye. Show the moon in the well. Please cross it. Take a leap of faith. Do like the shrimp. Do like the mountain pipers, who went to play and were played. Do like the greengrocer's dog. Do like the crow on the cheese. Do like the cuckoo. Be like the dolphin who puts the [[Tuna] in the net and then escapes. Do like the footman who starts with the whip. Do like the one who was looking for the donkey and was on it. Bundle every herb. Making a fly into an elephant. Make the heirs happy. Making the heirs laugh. Make the accounts without the innkeeper. Raising hell. Take a tour of the seven churches. Being sheep wolf. Make the flight of Icarus. Being Indian.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, Indian shtml. Pretending not to understand. Being cicada. Make the impression of a chocolatier.Quoted in cioccolatàio, treccani.it. Making a bad impression, a disgrace. Being a grand lady. Playing the part of the devil. Playing the lion. Taking more than others, perhaps through arrogance; from a fable by Aesop, where the lion took everything for himself without leaving anything for his hunting companion. Making the pot with two handles.Cited in Salvatore Battaglia, Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, XII Orad - Pere, Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Turin, 1984, p. 1065. Place hands on hips in a reproachful or threatening attitude. Travel more miles than a fasting wolf. Make a profession of faith. Pushing a hole in the water.Quoted in Dizionario della lingua italiana, Volume 1, p. 87. See. Wikipedia entry. Make a mess. Make a deal with the devil. To make God angry. Making a barbina figure.Cited in barbino, dizionari.corriere.it. Making a fool. Making a grey.Cited in [grìgia], treccani.it. Making a bad impression, a bad impression. Make a lean.Cited in magra, dizionari.corriere.it Making a bad impression, a bad impression. Make an omelette. Living like a nabob. Do it as master. Make them cooked and raw. Make as many as Nemo. Making fun of someone. Make oneself desire. Fatigue like a beast. February, February, short, short and cursed. End badly. Scourge of God. Cold of hand, warm of heart. Helena out, Hecuba in. G: Cat to peel. Generous of mouth and narrow of purse. Pulling the wool over your eyes. Throwing the handkerchief to someoneQuoted in Salvatore Battaglia, Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, V E - Fin, Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Turin, 1972, p. 764. Means of expressing one's sympathy to someone. Throw the handle behind the shovel. Throw the handle behind the axe. Throw the sack behind the Turnips. Throw the halter behind the donkey. Throw the rope behind the bucket. Throw away the mask. Play as the cat with mouse. Swear on the master's word. Grace of God. Goodness. Cry wolf. Growing. Looking someone in the face. Looking down on one. I: The heart does not make mistakes. money is the king of the world. Money is everything. The crime wants to be punished. The devil is the father of lies. The devil wouldn't go there for a soul. Doing nothing. The game is not worth the candle. Fat makes fat. The most beautiful fig in the basket. In a fury. Tripping over a straw. Crown yourself with ivy after the party. Wear Nesso's shirt. Teaching cats to climb. Teaching the hare to run. Chasing a chimera. Understanding is power. Peace often does not winter there. L: The egg of Columbus. The class is not water.Cited in -curiosita Seven "curious curiosities" on the most common sayings!, Focus Junior.it, 16 March 2014. Class is a rare characteristic, not as common as water. The goose that laid the golden eggs.Quoted in Giuseppe Pittàno, Frase fatto capo ha. Dictionary of idioms, proverbs and phrases, Zanichelli, 1992. Youth is beauty. Youth is virtue. The rain of Egypt. Tears of crocodile. Let the dice run. Leave something to be desired. Wash the pot with the water of Parnassus.Cited in Salvatore Battaglia, Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, XII Orad - Pere, Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Turin, 1984, p. 1065. Make poetry on every occasion, even inappropriately. Wash your hands. Work like a beast. Working for glory. Tie the donkey where the master wants. Tie it on your finger. Pulling a tooth. Free like a bird.Quoted in sapere.it, /Italian/U/UC/bird.html bird. Smoking the devil's tail. Smooth as silk. Smooth as a billiard. Smooth as a billiard ball. Fight without quarter. M: Send friar. Eating at four palments. Eating at ufo. Eat like a bird. Eat like a little. Eating with the funnel.Cited in Salvatore Battaglia, Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, VII Grav - Ing, Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Turin, 1972, p. 331. Eating quickly, voraciously. Eat the leaf. Eating for two. Eating someone alive. Beat the bush.Cited in Aa. Vv., The new Zingarelli, Zanichelli, 1983. Menar by the nose. Mix Jews and Samaritans. Put on iron and heat. Place at the foot of the cross. Putting your brains to work. Putting your finger on the wound. Putting the wolf in the fold. Put in a good light. Shedding a good light. Put in a bad light. Cross. Highlight. Put the rope around your neck. Put the torch under the bushel. Put something under your teeth. Dying like a beast. That is, without religious comforts. Bite the chain. Bite your tongue. Bite your fingers. Show your teeth. Move heaven and earth. N: Born with the shirt. Hide your head like the ostrich.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, /ostrich.shtml ostrich. Not by chance! Don't have anything to chew on. Don't bother. Not understanding a tube. Not understanding one iota. Do not be flour to make hosts. Do not be of your own making.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, flour. Don't be blunt flour. Be neither cooked nor raw. Don't be a saint. Don't hurt a fly. Don't look anyone in the face. Don't matter a damn. Not a hundred Egyptians would carry it. Don't lift a finger. Be neither in heaven nor on earth. You're not worth a damn. Not worth a penny. Nothing is impossible. O: Either eat this soup, or jump out the window. Eye of hawk. Eye of lynx. Everyone carries their cross. Now we dance. P: Pay the fee. Speaking like a printed book. Hit the ground running. Feed the fast. Pass the ditch. Pass into the cavalry. Move to the second line. Pass the boiling potato.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, .shtml potato. Pass under the Caudine forks. By love or by force. Losing the light of reason. Losing face. Pound the water in the mortar. Crying with hot tears. Crying like a calf.Quoted in Dino Provenzal, Why do they say that? Origin of idioms, of proverbial phrases, of many phrases in common use, U. Hoepli, 1958, p. 241. Leave in the lurch. Leave in the lurch. It's raining, government thief!Quoted in Giuseppe Fumagalli, Who said it?, Hoepli Editore, 1980, .google.it/books?id=HW4b2ZIC3xkC&pg=PA186 § 671, pp. 186-187. ISBN 9788820300920 It will rain terribly in Egypt. Raining from the sky. Puts guard over mouth. Bring crocodiles to Egypt. Kill two birds with one stone. Taking life with philosophy. Take fireflies for lanterns. Catch a crab. Take some confidences. Q: Matters of lana goat. Here cat is brooding. Fifth column. R: Tell the tale of the thrush. Scrape the bottom of the barrel. Make bread for focaccia. Making branches for leaves. Remain by sale.Cited in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, /sale.shtml sale. Roll up your sleeves. Resume dates for figs. Answer in kind. Break the ice. Breaking eggs in the basket. S: Taking the plunge. Save goat and cabbage. Saving face. Knowledge. Know more than the devil. The priest at the altar is also wrong.Quoted in Giovanni Cavicchioli, Death in the chicken coop, F. Campitelli, Foligno, [1926], /La_morte_nel_pollaio/2EkIAQAAMAAJ?hl=it&gbpv=1&bsq=even+the+priest+at%27altare+is+mistaken+at%27altare&dq=even+the+priest+at%27altare+is+wrong&printsec=frontcover p. 36. Making ends meet. Digging someone's grave. Choose flower from flower. Written in the ink of the Seven Jewels. Writers of weight.Quoted in Giuseppe Fumagalli, Who said it?, Hoepli, 1921, p. 731. If it is not true it is well found.Quoted in Giuseppe Fumagalli, Chi l'ha dice?, Hoepli, 1921, p. 532. Look like the Madonna of Pompeii. Looking like the Madonna of Monte Nero. Without spine. Serve two masters. Suffering like a beast.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, /suffer.shtml suffer. Blowing on the fire. Split the hair in four. Sparger salt on the wounds. Sparger salts the wounds. Put out the fire with tow. Squeeze like a lemon. Wasting effort in the wind. Wasting your breath. Speaking to the wind. Stand astride the ditch. Stare al balcone.Cited in Salvatore Battaglia, Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, II Balc - Cerr, Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Turin, 1971, p. 2. Staying and watching, being a spectator, without participating. Stand in suspense. Stand like the dog on the chain. Tear tears. Gritting your teeth. Across the board. Wave the handkerchief.Cited in Salvatore Battaglia, Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, V E - Fin, Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, Turin, 1972, p. 764. Way of greeting someone from whom one is quickly moving away (by ship, train, etc.) or of enthusiastically welcoming the arrival or passage of someone. T: Burning bridges.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, ponte. Cut the fig tree to pick the figs. Do like the ancients, who cut the fig tree to pick figs. Cut the bull's head. Achilles' heel. See. Wikipedia entry. Lots of smoke and little roast. Clip someone's wings. Hold the nets to the wind.Cited in Giovanni Gherardini, Vocabulary of the Italian language: proposed as a supplement to all the vocabularies published so far by Giovanni Gherardini, At the M. Publishing House. Guigoni, Milan, 1878, vol. V, Q – S, p. 95. To toil unnecessarily, to do your best for the ungrateful. Keep the staff.Quoted in Il Vocabolario Treccani, I vol. Indulging someone, supporting them, helping them, generally in incorrect or otherwise unwelcome behavior. Hold the knife by the handle. Hold the wolf by the Ears. Keep in the loop. Keep in limbo. Hold on the rope. Egghead. Head of cavolo.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, /testa.shtml testa. Head of turnip. Guess. Tighten the rope too much. Hitting rock bottom. Touch a chord. Remove the Chestnuts from the fire. Three strands make a string. Finding Eldorado. Finding one's worth. Finding yourself between two fires. Be between the rock and the hammer. We are all children of Adam and Eve. Everything goes in autumn. U: Forest bird. Of those who remained untraceable. Use the stick and the carrot.Quoted in Dizionario dei Idiomi, Hoepli Editore, -say/B/stick.shtml stick. Fable man. Getting angry. Exit the handle. Leave the flock. V: Vase of the Danaids. Seeing like smoke in your eyes. See bottom. See the white lady. See all black. Sell bran for flour. Sell the bear's skin before killing it.Quoted in Dizionario dei Modi di Dire, Hoepli Editore, /leather.shtml leather. To bring down the wrath of God. Vibrate like a violin string. Living, sleeping like a beast. Living in limbo. Wanting to silence the echo by scolding it. Turn face. Note: Related entries: Italian proverbs Italian Category:Italy