Italian Popular Sayings – Answers Posted by Serena on Sep 3, 2018 in Culture, Italian Language
Here are the translations to last week’s blog Italian Popular Sayings – A Quiz
avere la luna storta/di traverso
literal translation = to have the moon sideways
meaning = to be in a bad mood
avere la luna sul gomito
literal translation = to have the moon on your elbow
meaning = fake! I woke up one night when the moon was full. We have skylights above the bed, and I noticed that the moonlight was on Geoff’s elbow. The following morning I said to him: “Stanotte avevi la luna sul gomito!” (last night, you had the moon on your elbow). Geoff said that it sounded like a folkloric saying, a bit like ‘avevi la luna storta‘, and that was the beginning of the quiz!
avere un diavolo per capello
literal translation = to have a devil on each hair
meaning = to be very angry or agitated, as if you had many devils pulling your hair
il diavolo fa le pentole ma non i coperchi
literal translation = the devil makes the pans but not the lids
meaning = the truth will always come out
alzare il gomito
literal translation = to lift the elbow
meaning = to bend one’s elbow (to drink alcohol, perhaps excessively)
piovere a gatti e cani
literal translation = to rain like cats and dogs
meaning = fake! This is a literal translation of the English saying. In Italian we say “piovere a catinelle” (it’s raining buckets)
avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca
literal translation = to have your barrel full and your wife drunk
meaning = to have your cake and eat it too
capitare a fagiolo
literal translation = to arrive like a bean
meaning = to arrive at the right time, e.g. bravo, capiti proprio a fagiolo! (well done, you’ve arrived just at the right time!)
chi fa per sé fa per tre
literal translation = who does for themselves does for three
meaning = if you want a job doing properly, do it yourself
nella botte piccola c’è il vino buono
literal translation = the best wine is in the small barrel
meaning = good things come in small packages
… c’è di mezzo il mare.
tra il dire e il fare c’è di mezzo il mare
literal translation = between the saying and the doing there’s the sea in the middle
meaning = easier said than done – it’s easier to talk the talk than to walk the walk – words are cheap
il lupo perde il pelo ma non il vizio
literal translation = the wolf looses its pelt but not its vice
meaning = old wine in new bottles – the leopard cannot change its spots
la gallina che canta ha fatto l’uovo
literal translation = the chicken that sings laid the egg
meaning = “the lady doth protest too much, methinks” (W. Shakespeare, Hamlet)
buttare via la gallina con le uova marce
literal translation = to throw away the chicken with the rotten eggs
meaning = fake! The Italian saying is the same as the English one “buttare via il bambino con l’acqua sporca”.
essere come il prezzemolo
literal translation = to be like parsley
meaning = to turn up everywhere
entrarci come i cavoli a merenda
literal translation = to fit in like cabbages at snack time
meaning = to have nothing to do with something, to be out of place (you’d be unlikely to have cabbage with your merenda, a mid afternoon snack!)
Bacco, Tabacco e Venere, riducono l’uomo in cenere
literal translation = Bacchus, Tobacco, and Venus, reduce man to ashes
meaning = excessive use of alcohol, cigarettes and sex will kill you.
prendere due topi con un gatto solo
literal translation = to get two mice with just one cat
meaning = fake, invented by Geoff! There is, however, an Italian saying “prendere due piccioni con una fava” (to kill two birds with one stone; literally: to catch two pigeons with one bean)
chi non risica non rosica
literal translation = who doesn’t risk doesn’t gnaw
meaning = nothing ventured nothing gained – you can’t win if you don’t play the game
campa cavallo che l’erba cresce
literal translation = live horse that the grass grows
meaning = that’ll be the day! – pigs might fly! (literally: don’t die of hunger horse, wait for the grass to grow. A highly unlikely probability!)
l’erba voglio non cresce neanche nel giardino del re
literal translation = the grass ‘I want’ doesn’t even grow in the king’s garden
meaning = I want doesn’t get (usually said to a petulant or self-centred child who repeatedly demands io voglio, io voglio, io voglio!)
la lingua batte dove il dente duole
literal translation = the tongue hits where the tooth hurts
meaning = the tongue ever turns to the aching tooth (our mind always returns to the things that bother us)
non è bello ciò che è bello, ma è bello ciò che piace
literal translation = it’s not beautiful that which is beautiful, but it’s beautiful that which pleases
meaning = beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Well done everyone who had a go, we appreciate your participation.
Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.
Comments:
Kimberly Koehler:
I have met some women whose last name is D’Aloisio,
and needless to say, they are Italian. But their late father, Mario, didn’t speak Italian in the home. The three of us are setting out to learn Italian on our own. Your blogs are the centerpiece of our study!! Thank you!!
Richard:
Tra il dire e il fare c’è di mezzo il mare – How about?
There’s many a slip between the cup and the lip!
Serena:
@Richard Salve Richard!
Tra il dire e il fare c’è di mezzo il mare = There’s many a slip between the cup and the lip!
Ho visto questa traduzione su alcuni siti, ma il commento generale dei traduttori italiani è che il proverbio inglese implica che le cose possano andare male, mentre il proverbio italiano significa che siamo tutti bravi a dire quello che faremo, ma poi non siamo bravi a metterlo in pratica, rimandiamo sempre, ecc. Per questo motivo non l’ho incluso nella traduzione.
Saluti da Serena
Jack:
You seem to confuse the word ‘loose’ meaning ‘to free’ with ‘lose’ meaning to misplace something or to suffer a loss as in, the wolf loses its pelt’. I’m a retired English teacher trying to make sense of Italian and loving your posts.
Thanks – Grazie
Geoff:
@Jack Thanks Jack for reminding us about that English oddity!
I should have spotted it when I edited Serena’s post, but although I’m originally English, I’m afraid that after all these years in Italy, and reading mainly in Italian, English orthography no longer makes much sense to me. In fact, I rely quite heavily on the spell checker, and obviously it won’t pick up on lose/loose because it checks the spelling and not the syntax.
As you’re probably aware, the Italian phonetic system is really easy … probably the only easy thing about this convoluted language!
So glad to hear that you’re enjoying our posts, if there’s anything in particular that you need help with let us know, va bene?
Saluti da Geoff e Serena 🙂
Ibrahim:
Prendere due topi con un Gatto solo. Che cosa significa?
Geoff:
@Ibrahim Ciao Ibrahim,
Che cosa significa? Esattamente quello che c’è scritto nel blog:
“prendere due topi con un gatto solo
literal translation = to get two mice with just one cat
meaning = fake, invented by Geoff! There is, however, an Italian saying “prendere due piccioni con una fava” (to kill two birds with one stone; literally: to catch two pigeons with one bean)”
Non so cos’altro dirti! 🙂
Mario Ricci:
This proverb brings back old childhood memories:
Tra il dire e il fare c’è di mezzo il mare!
The Italian proverb sounds better no doubt but to me the best equivalent is still the shorter English proverb:
Easier said than done!
Ciao a tutti!
Geoff:
@Mario Ricci Grazie per il tuo commento Mario!
Saluti da Geoff e Serena 🙂