20
votes
What does "figurati" mean?
The expression figurati can be used in different contexts, with different meanings. It seems to me useful to add a well-organised summary of the word-usage.
It's interesting to look at the etymology, ...
- 371
14
votes
Accepted
"Tenersi pronto" = to get ready or to be ready
The meaning of the locution tenersi pronto is slightly different from both "to be ready" and "to get ready". It is however closer to the first.
Tenersi pronto means something like "to stand in ...
- 12.1k
12
votes
Accepted
Ma che sei grullo?
From the Treccani vocabulary:
grullo agg. [etimo incerto], tosc. – 1. Sciocco, semplicione; si dice soprattutto di persona che ha scarsa vivacità d’intelletto e di chi per eccessiva ingenuità si ...
- 12.1k
12
votes
Accepted
Dava da mangiare: Imperfect past tense of "feed"?
No, the correct translation is:
The farmer fed his horse every day.
or
The farmer gave something to eat to his horse every day
In Italian "dare da mangiare" (lit. "to give [something] to eat") ...
- 12.1k
11
votes
Accepted
Cos'è la "teoria del biscotto"?
Biscotto è un vero o presunto accordo nel campo sportivo per ottenere vantaggi, anche a discapito di qualche altro concorrente. Trovi qui una possibile spiegazione.
Un famoso biscotto fu preparato ...
- 17.9k
11
votes
Accepted
Is "fuffa" the correct translation for "fluff"?
The translation of fuffa as fluff is correct,
it is the typical unaesthetic fluff (or lanugine in Italian) that forms on cloth and that is generally removed.
Moreover it is not considered a bad ...
- 20.3k
10
votes
What does "e chi te molla" mean in dialetto Romano?
This phrase is used to express esteem, admiration and respect to a person.
Literally it means that no one can even think to leave that person's company.
The verb mollare in this case has the meaning ...
- 2,293
10
votes
What is the meaning of "mangia tu che mangio io"?
"action tu che action io" is a colloquial form to indicate that we both are doing or should do something with a will and at the same time, possibly in (usually friendly) competition: corri tu che ...
- 2,188
10
votes
Accepted
Is "Hai fatto cosa?" understood as a request to repeat what done?
Normally, you say Cosa hai fatto? to ask other people what they did, also with an interrogative tone of voice.
Hai fatto cosa? is not used this way, but usually when the other person didn't correctly ...
- 20.3k
9
votes
Accepted
Meaning/Conjugation of "servirese"
I believe there is a missing space and the correct phrase is servi rese, that is, “enslaved”; literally, servi rese = rese servi = “made slaves” (the inversion is usual in poetry).
- 36.4k
9
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between "zingaro" and "tzigano?"
Both words denote so-called Gypsies. Tzigano (more often spelt zigano) is an old-fashioned word, especially connected with travelling players and the like. Zingaro is the more usual word, often ...
- 36.4k
9
votes
Accepted
Could you explain the expression "quanti ne abbiamo oggi"?
It's an idiom, a standard phrasing Italian speakers don't even think about when using it, just like when asking in English for someone's age you apparently ask about them being more or less old, or ...
- 36.4k
9
votes
What's the meaning of "talpa" when used to describe a person?
The word talpa may refer to an informer or spy; somebody who passes information profiting from their workplace. The word mole is used with the same meaning in English.
From the Treccani dictionary
...
- 17.9k
9
votes
Is "fuffa" the correct translation for "fluff"?
@abarisone gave you a good answer (though I never heard the word fuffarolo, maybe it’s regional). I want to add that fuffa is not a bad word and you can use it in any context (of course if you told ...
- 313
8
votes
Accepted
Maggiore e più grande
La storia viene da lontano, cioè dal latino. Gli aggettivi bonus, malus, magnus e parvus avevano forme del comparativo prese da altri aggettivi ormai in disuso:
bonus/melior/optimus
malus/peior/...
- 17.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Cosa vuol dire "una psicologa del piffero"?
"Del piffero", riferito a cose e persone, ha proprio quell'accezione che hai trovato tu.
Una "psicologa del piffero" è una psicologa da poco, che non vale niente. Non conosco il testo, ma potrebbe ...
- 1,272
8
votes
Accepted
"Di prima occupazione": what does it mean in this text?
A prima occupazione is simply the first job one person gets in their life, generally after finishing school. So, your characters are looking for an author (an allusion to Pirandello's Sei personaggi ...
- 36.4k
8
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of "Bella lì"?
"Bella", "Bella lì" and "Bella zio" express approval and appreciation for a person, a situation, an idea or a plan. They are diffused, with some variations, in different regions (e.g., "Bella zi"/"...
8
votes
Accepted
Qual è il significato dell'espressione "a scapito di" in questo brano?
No, qui “signore” è femminile plurale. Il tale di cui si parla, evidentemente, è un truffatore ed è solito prendere in giro le donne a fini di lucro.
- 36.4k
8
votes
Che differenza tra "Di dove sei" e "Da dove vieni"?
As others mentioned, the two expressions you posted don't mean "What's your name", but rather "Where are you from?". If you wanted to be literal in the translation, you would translate "Da dove vieni?"...
- 181
8
votes
What's the meaning of "talpa" when used to describe a person?
In colloquial language it also means you're almost blind, like the animal "talpa" (mole). But in this case it's usually used in a comparison: you're as blind as/like a mole (sei (cieco) come una talpa)...
- 181
8
votes
Accepted
How to use "rendere" in a sentence?
As an Italian, I wouldn't understand what Io ho reso una pittura means. If you mean “I made a painting” or something like this, it's Ho dipinto un quadro (or, colloquially, Ho fatto un quadro).
The ...
- 36.4k
8
votes
Accepted
Does "nessuno" translate to "no one" or "anyone"?
Yes, double negatives are grammatical, and common, in Italian.
See on this monolingual dictionary, for instance:
Se posposto al verbo, è di solito rafforzato da altra negazione (non, né, senza, ecc.)....
- 3,241
8
votes
Meaning of the (idiomatic?) expression "seghe mentali"
La sega mentale o pippa mentale significa portare avanti un ragionamento contorto, farraginoso e oltremodo inutile che complica una situazione che sarebbe molto più semplice; una sorta di “...
- 20.3k
8
votes
Chiddu ca fù fu
I am going to answer the part of the question that is on topic: would an educated Italian (not from Sicily) understand these quotes?
In this case the answer is an unambiguous no. I dare to consider ...
- 12.1k
8
votes
Accepted
What does "Non nasconderti lasciati conquistare" mean?
These are two phrases: Non nasconderti, lasciati conquistare. Don't hide, let yourself be (allow yourself to be) conquered.
- 511
8
votes
Accepted
What does ripiamo mean?
Ripiamo (or ripijamo) is a way to write the Roman form for what in Standard Italian is ripigliamo, the first person plurale of the verb ripigliare, that is, “to take again” or, as in this case, “to ...
- 36.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible