Italian common saying -- in english (for fun)

Imagine you talking to a horse: “Live, horse, grass grows up!”

Just wait, everything will be fine?

Se la nonna avesse le ruote, sarebbe un triciclo!
or whatever you like your grandma to be…

Ti tocca!

I know “if cats were horses we could ride up trees”

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No but we say “Don’t we do tarantellas!”

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Bingo!
It means: you have to be patient, what you are waiting for won’t happen soon, but it will happen.

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We have that in Italian too: “if grandpa had three balls he’d be a flipper” :laughing: mostly said with incorrect verbal temps for added comedic value.

I love to translate common sayings in the literal sense, from Italian to English and vice versa. So, if after a day of work I get fed up and I write to my friends “lo chiamo un giorno” for “I call it a day”. It’s funny because it makes no sense at all in Italian.

The best ones are however the Sardinian ones. So, here’s my list.

  1. You’re like a pear!
  2. This thing is thrown together
  3. You’re already at flowers
  4. You’re taking me to the head
  5. You’re too few exited (yes, it makes no grammatical sense even in Sardinian)
  6. You’re a dead penis
  7. To throw someone out to the horn’s sound
  8. To have bad will
  9. You shit yourself! or May horror fuck him! or Horse penis!
    or That vulva! or My penis to you! (which all express more or less the same feeling)
  10. Of rubber! or Of cast iron!

Even if number 10 is said in Italian and has the same meaning of the Italian “with the cabbage!”

So, except for number 10, Italians too can try to understand the meaning of such sayings :smiley: good luck

Another one we have is: through a tube and seven faucets (“por un tubo y siete llaves”).

It means when you have a lot of something.

Is there a similar saying in Italian? How about in Spain or Latin-America? Or is it only in Puerto Rico?

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The solutions:

  • Arrange yourself:
    you have to succeed using your own means, none will help you.
  • You are an in leg person:
    you are very skilled, intelligent, personal qualities at high levels.
    The origin is about health: if you are ill, you usually lays on bed, you can’t walk, or stay on your legs. On the contrary, if you are in good health, you are able to use your legs, so… in leg!
  • Wife and cows from your towns:
    This is an advice: you should choose your wife and your cows (as a mean of income) from the places that you know well, your town or near towns, in order to avoid bad surprises.

The only one I can remember is:
“Got a load from Saint Anthony!” (Quanta grazia a Sant’Antonio!)

S’uncieru ogghiu fitusu e pariedda spunnata.

(it’s not even Italian)

Its literal translation into English is: The dirty oil joined the perforated pan.

Just to remember: Sardinia actually IS in Italy. But their traditions are really original :smiley:
I don’t know for sure, so I try to guess.

You look dumb, dopey

Things are going bad, even worse

It can’t go worse. You have reached the lowest point.

You are exciting me!

You are nuts.

… no comment

To get someone out of the troubles

To be unlucky.

beep you!

Ahhh, so the emphasis is on the second word!

I´d never guessed that one.

I get what this is supposed to mean, but I don´t like this.

Oh yes, I forgot, we also have this one:

SARDIGNA NO EST ITALIA!

:grin:

Italy is no fish in a tin can.

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Yes. That’s the meaning. But, as far as I know it is used only in sarcastic way, so it means the opposite: “if you do nothing, things won’t fix by themselves”

I´d been surprised if you had a saying that encourages someone by unironically calling them horse.

Prepare to be surprised:

"Sei il mio cavallo vincente "

(You’re my winning horse)

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Mmhhh, we have something very similar to that, which translates to “You´re my best horse in the stable”. But that´s a bit old.

Or you can say: “that is my batte horse”.

You are referring to some activity you are very proficient in, so you choose it when you want to win, or show off your skills. Just as like you’d choose your best horse in order to win a battle.