IdiomBody & Senses
Italian
Italiana bocca asciutta
Meaning: Hungry and wanting food, or disappointed and empty-handed.
Literally: With dry mouth
Example: “Siamo arrivati tardi e siamo rimasti a bocca asciutta.” — We arrived late and went away empty-handed.
English equivalent: To go away empty-handed
Equivalents in other languages
Portuguese: Ficar a ver navios Literally: To be left watching ships
Russian: Остаться с носом (Ostat'sya s nosom) Literally: To be left with the nose
English: go away empty-handed
Origin: A dry mouth is the mouth of someone who has had nothing to eat or drink. Being left a bocca asciutta is going without what one hoped for, empty-handed or disappointed. The Hoepli dictionary lists many variants, such as restare a becco asciutto (with a dry beak) and a denti asciutti (with dry teeth).
More Italian idioms
- alle corde In a desperate or losing position, cornered.
- mela marcia A person who is corrupt or morally bad and whose influence damages those around them.
- toccare il fondo To reach the lowest point of degradation or despair; to hit rock bottom.
- mettere fuori combattimento To silence someone or exclude them from participation and influence.
- dannarsi l'anima To work extremely hard or exert oneself to the utmost.
- qui casca l'asino That is the crux of the matter; that is where the real difficulty lies.
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