Heather Broster
If, in English, you want to say that somebody’s house, a shop or a restaurant is very close to where you live, you can rely on the very useful expression “a stone’s throw away” or “within a stone’s throw.” In Italian, there is a very similar expression that replaces stones with muskets. Let’s discover it …
From the 13th to the 16th century, men and women commonly wore light headdresses made of wool, cloth, or canvas, secured under the chin with laces. Over time, these evolved into a staple of women’s nightwear and a standard way to keep infants’ heads warm. In Italian, this style is known as a cuffia (cap …
Bando alle ciance is a wonderfully evocative, albeit somewhat old-fashioned Italian expression meaning either “enough chatter” or “stop the small talk”. As you can imagine, it is used to cut short unnecessary talking, nonsense, or gossip, so as to shift focus immediately to the main topic. bando alle ciance enough chatter / stop the small …
Is there someone in your life with whom you have a perfectly harmonious relationship? If so, you could describe your bond using the adjective affiatato. affiatato close / close-knit Affiatato can be translated as close or close-knit, but in English, it’s just as common to use wordier descriptions to illustrate the relationship. Let’s look at …
An everyday object we would struggle to live without is the humble busta. Let’s discover all the different meanings associated with this word! busta envelope / case / bag According to Treccani, the word busta derives from the Old French word boiste (which evolved into the modern French boîte, meaning box). This, in turn, comes …
Whenever someone asks me how to say “to tease” or “to take the mickey” in Italian, my first instinct is to teach them the expression prendere in giro, simply because it is the most commonly used translation. Those who wish to amplify their vocabulary, however, may be interested in a similar expression which replaces giro …