Crepapelle, or more specifically a crepapelle, is one of those Italian expressions that does not have a direct English equivalent. Comprising the words crepare (to crack / to die) and pelle (skin), it describes various actions that are carried out to the point of bursting or to the breaking point.
The best way to understand how it is used is to memorise the set idiomatic expressions in which it appears. Those most likely to occur in everyday speech are:
Ridere a crepapelle
Ridere = to laugh
To split one’s sides with laughter. To burst out laughing.
Far ridere (qualcuno) a crepapelle
Far ridere = to make laugh
To crack (someone) up. To have (someone) in fits.
La prima parte del film mi ha fatto ridere a crepapelle, la seconda mi ha strappato le lacrime!
The first part of the film cracked me up, the second part left me in tears!
A few other verbs can also be used with a crepapelle but they appear less in spoken language and more in literature.
Mangiare a crepapelle
Mangiare = to eat
To eat until you burst.
Riempirsi a crepapelle
Riempirsi = to fill oneself
To stuff one’s face.
Bere a crepapelle
Bere = to drink
To drink oneself under the table.
Sghignazzare a crepapelle
Sghignazzare = to laugh scornfully
To laugh scornfully and uncontrollably.
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.
