Italian Idiom: Toccata e fuga (very brief / short)

Last weekend, we had some Italian friends over who, due to various reasons, could only stay from Friday to Monday, with two of those days dedicated to travel. In total, they had just two full days to spend with us and explore our little corner of Wales. In Italian, there’s a common idiomatic expression to …

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Italian Idiom: Tanto di cappello! (Hats off!)

Italian idiom "Tanto di cappello"

The origin of the phrase tanto di cappello, which equates to the English idiomatic expression hats off, can be traced back to the old custom of removing one’s hat as a sign of respect or courtesy. tanto di cappello hats off Cappello means hat, and tanto, in this case, is being used emphatically to mean …

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Italian Idiom: Rimanere secco (to die suddenly)

In Italian, there’s an idiomatic way to express someone’s unexpected death: rimanere secco, which literally translates to “to be left dry.” rimanere secco to die unexpectedly The verb rimanere can be substituted with restare (to stay) without altering the meaning. Additionally, you can use the pronominal verbs rimanerci and restarci, incorporating the particle ci. The …

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Italian Idiom: Essere agli sgoccioli (to be almost over)

Today, we’ll be delving into an idiom that I’ve been meaning to write about for quite some time, but only just remembered to jot down on my “to-do” list yesterday. This idiom is the delightful essere agli sgoccioli! Essere agli sgoccioli To be almost over / at the end Imagine when you take a sip …

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