Heather Broster
A soiled diaper. A smelly sock. Or a dead spider in your bathtub. All of these can be succinctly described with a single Italian noun: schifo (gross / yuck / disgust). schifo gross / yuck / disgust The term has roots in the Old French eschif and Old Franconian *skiuhjan, meaning to respect / revere …
Picture yourself speeding down a street, and at an intersection, you find yourself having to make a sharp turn to avoid a collision with the building on the corner. If you do end up hitting that corner, it’s safe to say you’ve made quite a significant mistake. From this very scenario arises the idiomatic expression …
What’s in a name? It turns out, a lot! Indeed, the significance of a surname goes beyond just being a label; it can be a powerful key to unlocking one’s ancestral past. Surnames often trace back through generations, acting as a link to a family’s lineage and geographical origins. What’s more, they can provide invaluable …
Mai is one of those indispensable adverbs in the Italian language that can mean either “ever” or “never / not ever”. Its pronunciation is identical to the English word “my”. It derives from the Latin magis, meaning “more” or “greater”. mai ever / never / not ever When the meaning of mai is negative (i.e. …
One of the aspects I truly appreciate about the Italian language is how food-related words are incorporated into their expressions and idioms. It adds such a flavourful dimension to their language and culture, wouldn’t you agree? Today, I’d like to share one of my absolute favorite Italian expressions, a phrase I’ve incorporated so seamlessly into …
The polite way to refer to man in Italian is signore. It differs from uomo in that the latter is less polite and is used to generically refer to a human being or mankind. signore It should come as little surprise that signore is a masculine noun, and therefore, it is used with the following …