Italian Word of the Day: Tormentone (catchphrase / hit song)

A tormentone is an expression, catchphrase, buzzword, meme, or piece of music that is repeated ad nauseam via the mass media or word of mouth, gaining rapid popularity and widespread diffusion as a result. tormentone catchphrase / hit song Tormentone is a masculine noun, and the plural form is tormentoni. il tormentone un tormentone i tormentoni …

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Italian Word of the Day: Zerbino (doormat)

Today’s word is zerbino which, as exotic as it sounds, actually refers to the humblest of household objects: the doormat. It comes from the Arabic zirbiy which translates as either rug or cushion. zerbino doormat Zerbino is a masculine noun whose plural form is zerbini. Any masculine noun that starts with the letter z in …

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Italian Word of the Day: Grossomodo (roughly / approximately)

An adverb in Italian that means more or less, approximately or roughly is grossomodo. It may also be written as two words – grosso modo – with grosso meaning large and modo meaning way. grossomodo roughly / approximately Siamo grossomodo a metà strada. We’re approximately halfway there. Grossomodo ci saranno quaranta persone questa sera. There …

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Italian Word of the Day: Perdente (loser / losing)

In every aspect of life, there are inevitably winners and losers. The word for the former is vincitore, whereas the latter is our word of the day: perdente. perdente loser Perdente is a noun that can be either masculine or feminine. The plural form for both genders is perdenti with an -i on the end. …

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Italian Word of the Day: Carciofo (artichoke)

Today we’re going to be taking a look at one of my favourite vegetables, the humble yet incredibly tasty carciofo. Unlike many Italian words, the word doesn’t have a Latin origin – rather, it comes from the Arabic kharshuf. It is the word, not only for the edible part of the plant, but also the …

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Italian Word of the Day: Mammone (mama’s boy)

For the first year of my son’s life, he had a fairly strong preference for his father, constantly wanting to be held by him and searching for him when he wasn’t around. Now that he’s older, he has become much more of a mammone, which is the word for a mama’s boy (or mummy’s boy) …

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