Heather Broster
There are two possible interpretations for the adjective spiritoso (feminine: spiritosa, plural: spiritosi / spiritose) in Italian. spiritoso On one hand, it characterises a witty, clever, or funny person, or something, such as a joke (battuta) or response (risposta), that is witty or entertaining. Daniele fa sempre battute spiritose. Daniele always makes witty jokes. On …
On the weekend, one of our favourite pass-times as a family is going on a walk in the woods. In Italian, woods translates to bosco. bosco wood(s) / woodland Bosco is a masculine noun, derived from the West Germanic busk or bosk, with its plural form being boschi. Here are its definite and indefinite articles: …
An Italian idiom I learned from my husband early on in our relationship is arrampicarsi sugli specchi, which literally translates to climbing on mirrors. (And yes, before you ask, this is something of which I am guilty at times!) arrampicarsi sugli specchi to make desperate excuses to justify oneself or a situation Figuratively, it refers …
Last Christmas, I bought my son three adorable little stuffed owls with the softest fur imaginable. Fast-forward to July, and they all looked like something the cat dragged in. In Italian, the word arruffato perfectly describes the disheveled, ruffled, tangled or matted state of hair or fur, whether it’s on a person, animal, or well-loved …
In Italian, the name for the cosmetic that many women put on their lips (le labbra) in order to look more glamorous is rossetto (lipstick). rossetto lipstick Rossetto is the diminutive form of the colour rosso, which means red, so the literal translation is “little red.” The suffix is -etto, which can also be seen …
Imagine a workplace scenario where there’s a looming deadline, and everyone is scrambling to finish a critical project. However, one employee – let’s call him Marco – is sitting at his desk, meticulously organising paperclips by colour. In Italian, you could metaphorically describe Marco’s engagement in a pointless and trivial activity as pettinare le bambole, …