Heather Broster
In Italian, fischiare le orecchie literally means “to whistle in the ears,” and it refers to the persistent ringing or buzzing sound in one’s ears, often associated with tinnitus. Mi fischiano le orecchie! My ears are ringing / buzzing! However, this expression, when preceded by the verb sentirsi (to feel), can also be used figuratively to describe the …
The soft curly hair forming the coat of a sheep, goat or camel is known as wool in English, or lana in Italian. lana wool Lana, which is a feminine noun, is derived from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. Below are its definite and indefinite articles: The expression di lana (of wool) is …
My son, during his swimming lessons, is happy to do anything the teacher tells him to do except dive into the water. The word for a dive or plunge is tuffo in Italian. tuffo dive / plunge / dip Tuffo is derived from the verb tuffare (to plunge / immerse), which interestingly enough, comes not …
I’m sure we’ve all encountered gossip or news at some point in our lives that has left us gaping in disbelief. In Italian, there’s a fantastic idiom you can employ to capture that feeling—rimanere di stucco—which essentially means being flabbergasted / dumbfounded. rimanere di stucco to be flabbergasted / dumbfounded Stucco is the Italian word …
Marachella is a lovely-sounding Italian word that denotes a forbidden action, carried out in secret, that can be considered forgivable once discovered. In English, we can translate this word as mischief, prank or trick depending on the context. marachella mischief / prank / trick Marachella is a feminine noun, so it takes the following definite and …
Today, I propose we veer away from idiomatic expressions and delve into a well-known Italian proverb closely tied to both the Christmas and Easter season: Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi. Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi! This proverb suggests that while spending Christmas (Natale) with your parents is important, Easter …