Picture a pristine sheet freshly pressed by a skilled professional, free of any wrinkles. There are few things as immaculate. This concept gives rise to the Italian idiom non fare una piega, literally meaning “to not make a wrinkle” or “to not make a crease.”
It describes an argument or way of thinking that is flawless, correct, perfectly logical, indisputable, and errorless.
non fare una piega
to be flawless
Il suo ragionamento non fa una piega.
His argument is flawless.
However, this idiomatic expression carries a second, distinct meaning. When applied to an individual, it signifies that they exhibit no emotion. In this sense, it aligns with the English idiom “to not bat an eyelid.”
L’ho lasciata e non ha fatto una piega.
I left her and she didn’t bat an eyelid.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
