LEVEL 1:
- VABBÈ – A shortening of “va bene”, vabbè is a tried-and-true conversation closer. Can be used in both a positive sense–as an exclamation–or in a negative sense, as an indicator of resignation.
- BOH – This glorious, single-syllable word most simply means “I don’t know”, but can also work as “Beats me!”, “Whatever shall be, shall be!”, “I don’t give a damn”, and “I may never know so leave me alone!”
- CHE PALLE – Although it literally translates to “what balls”, this oft-used term indicates annoyance or boredom: “this sucks!”, “what a drag”, etc.
- MA VA – A term that’s best delivered dripping in disdain, “ma va” can mean any of the following: “are you kidding me?”, “no shit [Sherlock]”, “I don’t believe you”, “stop it”, or “just go”.
- CAVOLO! – It may seem strange that the word “cabbage” can be used as a stand-in for almost any curse word–versatile like the omnipresent “cazzo”–its usage dates back to the days of cucina povera. Even when food–especially meats and prime veggies–was a luxury for many families, cabbages were cheap and abundant, and the only food that might be dared to be wasted. Thus, the comparison between cabbage and something not worth caring about was born.
- TRANQUI – A shortening of “tranquillo/a”. A slangy way of saying “don’t worry”.
- AVOGLIA – Absolutely! You bet! Of course! A particularly emphatic way to say “si”.
- DAI – Perhaps best translated as “c’mon”, used to convey urgency or impatience, or to encourage or persuade. We’ve seen anglophones confused by this little word–pronounced the same as the English “die”–thinking we wish death upon each other. (Only true if they support a rival football team.
- MENO MALE! – “How lucky!”
- MAMMA MIA – Yes, we Italian do say mamma mia–and unironically. No, it has literally nothing to do with the 2008 smash-hit movie of the same name. Surprise, excitement, frustration, and disbelief–mamma mia is an interjection that can tackle them all.
LEVEL 2:
- IN BOCCA AL LUPO – This phrase, which means “in the mouth of the wolf”, was originally used in show biz to wish a performer good luck–more or less the Italian equivalent of English’s “break a leg”. The superstition from which it originated bled into everyday life, and the term is now used off-stage all the time.
- SECONDO ME – “In my opinion.” Used before any flavor of take, hot or otherwise.
- CAVALLO DI BATTAGLIA – Although it translates literally to “battle horse”, cavallo di battaglia is used metaphorically to refer to an advantage over an opponent or rival. The trump card.
- FUORI DI TESTA – Out of one’s mind. Crazy. Insane. Like non-Italians around burrata.
- FA UN FREDDO CANE – It’s hard to translate well into English–there’s a dog in there–but, in essence, it means “it’s freezing.” Said while wearing cashmere socks, thermal underwear, puffer jackets, and seven scarves… All this and the thermometer barely ever drops below 5°C.
- FA SCHIFO – “It’s disgusting/gross.” Alternatively, “it sucks.” Generally used to express strong disapproval or distaste for something, whether it be cockroaches or a bad hair day.
- SOGNI D’ORO – Dream of gold, the Italian equivalent of “sweet dreams.”
- ROMPIPALLE – An annoying person, a ball breaker.
- WEEKEND – Sometimes to speak Italian like an Italian, you have to speak English like an Italian: though the correct way to say weekend is “fine settimana”, it’s much more common to hear the colloquial “il weekend”. The same is true of other English words, especially those that are business based–marketing, feedback, manager, trend–or tech related–computer, like (of the Instagram variety), chat, e-mail. An Italian accent is essential though.
LEVEL 3:
- ATTACCARE IL BOTTONE (to stick the button) – You know those conversations from which, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t escape? Your interlocutor just won’t shut up about something so mind-numbingly boring, every social cue flying straight over their head? They’re “attacking the button”, an idiom that comes from the time when doctors had to use an iron tool to cauterize wounds. The flattened bit at the end apparently–we’re happy to not be speaking from personal experience here–looked quite like a button.
- AD OCCHIO E CROCE (by eye and cross) – Something done approximately, by eyeball. A rough guess. The term comes from the silk weavers of Florence who, when a thread broke, patched the work by going over it several times with the eye, occhio, of the needle and then arranged into a cross, croce.
- TIRARE IL PACCO (to throw the package) – To screw someone over, or to stand someone up.
- CADERE A FAGIOLO (to fall like a bean) – The perfect coincidence. Something unforeseen that happens at an ideal moment, or a person who arrives at just the moment they’re needed. An opportunity that falls into your lap. Niccolò Tommaseo, renowned 19th-century linguist, hypothesized that the idiom derives “from the common saying that the Florentines really like beans.” (It’s true, we do really like beans.)
- ULTIMA SPIAGGIA (the last beach) – Last resort, last hope, etc. If that last beach falls through, all you’ve got left is the waves.
- MANDARE ALL’ARIA (to send to the air) – To upset one’s plans, to call everything off. Similar to the English expression “to blow up.”
- AVERE LA CODA DI PAGLIA (to have a straw tail) – Someone who has a straw tail knows they’ve done something wrong and doesn’t have a clear conscience about it; as a result, they’re on edge about being discovered. A cousin of having “a skeleton in the closet.” The idiom comes from an Aesop fable in which a fox, having lost its tail in a trap, replaces it with a hay one.
- SIAMO ALLA FRUTTA (we’re at the fruit) – Reaching your proverbial end, in reference to fruit being the last course of a meal. I.e. to be in shambles, to be at the end of your rope, etc.
- AVERE IL PELO SULLO STOMACO (to have hair in your stomach) – To be unscrupulous. The reasoning goes that someone without morality, who can take any insult or accusation without guilt, can do so because they’re padded by the hair in their stomach. Sure?
