Do you know someone who sits around all day doing nothing? Then you could call him or her a perdigiorno in Italian!
Perdigiorno, which is an invariable noun made up of the words perdere (to lose / to miss / to waste) and giorno (day), is used to describe both men and women who avoid work and effort. It literally means “day-waster”.
Here are the definite and indefinite articles you can use with this noun. Because it is invariable, the ending of perdigiorno never changes.
- il perdigiorno = the slacker (male)
- la perdigiorno = the slacker (female)
- i perdigiorno = the slackers (males or mixed group)
- le perdigiorno = the slackers (females)
- un perdigiorno = a slacker (male)
- una perdigiorno = a slacker (female)
- (dei) perdigiorno = (some) slackers (males or mixed group)
- (delle) perdigiorno = (some) slackers (females)
The expression fare il perdigiorno means to be a slacker.
Dovresti cercarti un lavoro invece di fare il perdigiorno.
You should find yourself a job instead of being a slacker.
A similar word with the same meaning is perditempo, made of the same verb perdere and the noun tempo (time). A “time-waster” basically!
Other common synonyms you’ll encounter are:
- pigrone = lazy bones, couch potato
- fannullone = lazy bones, good-for-nothing
- scansafatiche = loafer, slacker
- pelandrone = loafer, idler
