Today, we want to discuss the meaning of a very common Italian idiom: Cercare il pelo nell’uovo (literally “to search for a hair in the egg”). This expression, which is very familiar to most Italians, signifies being overly meticulous and seeking out faults and flaws in others, even when they are imperceptible or non-existent. In …
Now that we’re well into the depths of winter (inverno), we thought we’d share an idiomatic phrase that is widely used in spoken Italian on freezing cold days. Fa un freddo cane! It’s freezing cold!(Literal translation: It’s dog cold! or It makes a cold dog!) It is made up of the following components: So, why …
In bocca al lupo, which literally translates to into the wolf’s mouth, is a very common greeting in Italian addressed to those in need of buona fortuna (good luck) such as, for example, someone about to embark on a risky endeavour or a student about to take an important exam. In bocca al lupo! Good …
Scarpetta in Italian is the diminutive of scarpa, the word for shoe or boot. It refers to any small shoe including a child’s shoe, a small and elegant shoe that ladies wear, or a flat sports shoe made of light and flexible material such as canvas or rubber. The idiomatic expression fare la scarpetta (lit: …