Italian common saying -- in english (for fun)

Off-topic
1

You know, we Italians have fantasy: we speak with hand gestures, we also like to express concepts with ways of saying, typically figurative.

Here is a list of 11 common saying, literally translated in english. We Italians use them in our conversations.
Why 11? Because David Letterman used to list 10.

Italian readers: if you translate literally, you probably will get a big smile.

Non-Italian readers: can you guess the meaning of the following expressions?
Just for fun!

  1. You have your head on your shoulders
  2. Arrange yourself
  3. You are not even able to make an O with the glass
  4. You are an in leg person
  5. It costs like an eye of the head
  6. Don’t sing victory too early
  7. Those goods are like Mana from the sky
  8. The two of you are like ass and shirt
  9. Live, horse, that the grass grows up!
  10. Thank you one thousand
  11. Wife and cows from your towns
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2

6, 7, and 10 we also have in Spanish.

  1. No cantes victoria.
  2. CĂłmo Mana del cielo.
  3. Gracias, mil.

We also have a few of our own. My favorite is:

  • If my grandma had wheels, she’d be a bicycle!
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3

At least numbers 5 to 10 are VERY common in Argentina. Many of us have italian grand parents (or grand grand parents), so it is quite understandable that we use the same expressions (translated to everyday Spanish).

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4

Could you write them down in Italian? I feel I am loosing something in the translation to English for a couple of the first ones.

5

And 5 is very similar (face instead head) It costs like an eye of the face

  1. Cuesta un ojo de la cara
6

Does anyone actually say “when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie”?

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7

… it’s “amore”!

Great. Now I have an earworm.

8

My job here is done…time to take off to my home planet.

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9

Oh, missed that! We use that too in PR. We also alternate it with “Cuesta in huevo” (literally, “costs an egg,” it’s a vulgar way of saying testicle).

And of course, there’s this gem:

  • It f**ks me twice. (Me re-jode).

    dZ.

10

A funny one we also have is literally translated as:

  • It touches you (“Te toca”), to mean “it is your turn.”
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Sure:

  1. You have your head on your shoulders
    Hai la testa sulle spalle
  2. Arrange yourself
    Arrangiati
  3. You are not even able to make an O with the glass
    Non sei neppure capace di fare una O con il bicchiere
  4. You are an in leg person
    Sei una persona in gamba
  5. It costs like an eye of the head
    Costa un occhio della testa
  6. Don’t sing victory too early
    Non cantare vittoria troppo presto
  7. Those goods are like Mana from the sky
    Quelle cose sono Manna dal cielo
  8. The two of you are like ass and shirt
    Voi due siete culo e camicia
  9. Live, horse, that the grass grows up!
    Campa cavallo, che l’erba cresce
  10. Thank you one thousand
    Grazie mille
  11. Wife and cows from your towns
    Moglie e buoi dei paesi tuoi
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AHAHAH, That’s amore!
No, none usually says something like that, but recently, an italian singer said:
You have islands in your eyes :smile:

13

Ohhh, isn´t that nice! :slight_smile:

14

We have plenty of expressions with the male genital organ, but I avoid to write them here :blush:

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15

Hmmm…

immagine
immagine1064Ă—978 290 KB

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16

Waaaah, scary!

17

Sounds like a similar meaning to the American phrase “Tag, you’re it.”

18

OK, I’m going to take some guesses…

You are thinking clearly, or rationally. Like the English phrase “She has a good head on her shoulders”, or “He has his head on straight”.

Start thinking more clearly. Or make yourself presentable. Like the English phrase “Put yourself together”.

That’s a fun one. I assume it’s a way of saying you think someone isn’t very smart.

I have no idea what this would mean.

Tricky. I mean, the eye is a critical part of one’s head, so maybe this mean’s it’s something really critical or expensive. Or since everyone get’s two eyes in their head for free, it could mean that it’s cheap, everyone already has plenty.

Like “It’s not over until the fat lady sings”. Lots can happen in the last hours or minutes, so don’t assume it’s going to end well. Or “Don’t count your eggs until they’re hatched”.

Sounds similar to the phrase in English, “like Mana from Heaven” - a gift from God, a rare and precious gift.

Hmm… I guess two people who are very close?? Like a cruder version of “Two peas in a pod”.

No idea… What?

Like the English phrase “Thanks a million”. In English it can be used when you are very thankful. However, it’s often used sarcastically - when you really did NOT appreciate their effort of helping you, or it didn’t help you at all.

Nope… Can’t guess this one. Sounds like maybe when you are referring to thinks that you are “too familiar” with and therefore not as interesting??

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19

Your score: 7/11
Very good!

Remaining expressions to decrypt are:

  • Arrange yourself
  • You are an in leg person
  • Live, horse, that the grass grow up
  • Wife and cows from your towns

Hint:
Ron Gilbert, David Fox, Gary Winnick are undoubtedly “in leg persons” :blush:

20

Get a job/haircut/decent clothes

You are bad at sports/dancing

[If this was even close to proper english, I might understand it…]

You ugly, inbred redneck!