Have you ever done someone a small favour, even just a tiny one, only to find yourself wondering a few days later how you somehow ended up doing tutto (everything) for them?
Maybe you agree to cover one shift, and suddenly you’re the person everyone asks whenever they need time off. Or you lend someone your notes, and before you know it, they’re asking you to send them every assignment.
Italian has the perfect expression for these situations: a chi dai il dito, si prende anche il braccio. Literally, it means: To whom you give a finger, they’ll also take the arm.
A chi dai il dito, si prende anche il braccio
Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile
There are many variations that come from this proverb, such as the ones below, but the meaning remains the same:
- Dagli un dito e si prende anche il braccio
- Se gli dai un dito, si prende anche il braccio (lit. If you give him a finger, he’ll take the arm too)
- Dagli un dito e si prende tutta la mano (lit. Give them a finger and they’ll take the whole hand)
The expression is used when someone takes advantage of a small concession, favour, or opportunity and then asks for (or takes) much more than was originally offered. In short, you give someone a little, and they try to take a lot. For example:
Gli ho detto che poteva usare la mia macchina per un giorno, ma dagli un dito e si prende anche il braccio: adesso vuole tenerla per una settimana!
I told him he could use my car for a day, but give him an inch and he’ll take a mile: now he wants to keep it for a week!
The closest and most natural English equivalent is the idiomatic Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile but you could also translate it as they’re taking advantage of you or they’re pushing their luck.
The idiom can change every so slightly depending on who you are talking about. If the person taking advantage is a man or boy, and you are talking about him in the third person, you would say:
- Dagli un dito e si prende tutta la mano
- Gli dai un dito e si prende tutta la mano
For a woman or girl, on the other hand, you need to say:
- Dalle un dito e si prende tutta la mano
- Le dai un dito e si prende tutta la mano
For a group of people, you need to use loro:
- Dai loro un dito e si prendono tutta la mano
It’s also possible to encounter the expression in its infinitive form, which doesn’t refer to anyone in particular:
- Dare un dito e farsi prendere tutta la mano
Another possible alternative to this expression is prendersi il dito con tutta la mano which literally translates as to take the finger with the whole hand.
Non darle troppa libertà… sai com’è, si prende il dito con tutta la mano.
Don’t give her too much freedom… you know what she’s like, she’ll take a mile when you give her an inch.
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.
