Is there someone in your life whom you know so well that you can almost anticipate their every action? Then today’s Italian idiom will put a smile on your face!
Conosco i miei polli literally translates to “I know my chickens,” and although I’m sad to say that we don’t have a matching idiom in English, it can be literally rendered in a few ways:
- I know who I’m dealing with!
- I know what they are like!
- I know what they can get up to!
- I know them inside and out!
- I know them like the back of my hand!
This fun idiom suggests that the individuals in question are up to no good, and the speaker possesses the necessary expertise to handle them.
There are several situations in which you may come across this idiom: when parents (especially mothers) discuss their children, teachers talk about their students, and adults complain about their colleagues at work.
Sei sicura che i tuoi figli torneranno in tempo? – Sì, fidati, conosco i miei polli!
Are you sure your kids will be back in time? – Yes, trust me, I know exactly what they’re like.
Insegno a questi ragazzi da cinque anni, conosco i miei polli ormai!
I’ve been teaching these guys for five years, “I know my chickens”!
According to the highly respected Italian publishing company Zanichelli, the origin of the expression is as follows:
L’espressione da cui deriva è “conosco i miei polli alla calzetta”: un tempo infatti i polli venivano lasciati liberi di razzolare per le strade e i proprietari per riconoscerli legavano loro una striscia colorata di stoffa intorno a una zampetta.
The expression from which it derives is “conosco i miei polli alla calzetta“: in the past, chickens were allowed to roam freely in the streets, and their owners would tie a colorful strip of fabric around one of their legs to recognise them.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
