IdiomDaily Life
Italian
Italianbattere la grancassa
Meaning: To advertise or publicize something widely and loudly; to spread news or promote something conspicuously.
Literally: To beat the big drum
Example: “Il comune ha battuto la grancassa per la nuova pista ciclabile.” — The town beat the drum for the new bike path.
English equivalent: To beat the drum for something
Equivalents in other languages
English: beat the drum for something
Origin: The grancassa is the bass drum, the loudest instrument in the band; the Treccani dictionary notes the word copies Spanish caja (box, drum). Beating it is the street showman's way of drawing a crowd, and battere la grancassa is promoting something noisily and insistently.
More Italian idioms
- mandare giù To accept or tolerate something unwillingly, often swallowing one's pride or doubts.
- questione di lana caprina A trivial or pointless debate that wastes time and produces no useful result.
- battere i tacchi To run away or flee hastily.
- dove non batte il sole On one's backside; used in crude retorts, like English "where the sun doesn't shine."
- fuori del seminato Off the point; irrelevant or beside the subject at hand.
- essere di casa To be accepted as a family member; to feel completely at home and comfortable somewhere.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
- Bravo Actually means 'good, skilled, well-behaved'. For brave, say coraggioso.
- Camera Actually means 'room'. A camera (device) is una macchina fotografica.
- Pretendere Actually means 'to demand' or 'to expect'. Pretende troppo = He demands too much.
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