The adverb carponi (also written as a carponi or the less common carpone) is how you would say on all fours or on one’s hands and knees in Italian. It is probably connected with the Latin carpere which means to swipe or to pilfer. Some common verbs you’ll see used with carponi include: camminare carponi …
If you happen to meet someone who simply doesn’t care about other people’s problems or the issues facing the world, they may be suffering from what is called menefreghismo in Italian (masculine, plural: menefreghismi). Sadly, there isn’t really a word-for-word translation for menefreghismo in English, which is a shame because we could definitely benefit from …
If you can imagine a dog sinking its teeth into your favourite pair of shoes and refusing to let go no matter how hard you pull, you are already halfway to understanding the meaning of the adjective accanito! Accanito itself derives from the word for dog in Italian, which is cane. It is used to …
The word bruciapelo (masculine, invariable) is mostly seen in the expression a bruciapelo which literally means point-blank or at point-blank range. It is formed of two words: the verb bruciare (to burn) and the noun pelo (a single body hair). The idea is that if a gun is shot at very close range, it can …
The word fruscio (masculine) in Italian is a noun that usually describes the following kinds of subdued sounds: In most cases, it equates in meaning to the words rustle or rustling in English. The plural form is fruscii with the double “i” at the end. You can hear the singular and plural pronunciations below. Fruscio …
Today we’re going to be taking a look at the verb gironzolare, which describes the act of walking or moving around a place without any particular aim. Some possible English translations include to wander, to hang around or to loiter. As you might have guessed, gironzolare derives from the verb girare which means to turn …