Capire fischi per fiaschi
Meaning: To misunderstand completely.
Language: Italian
Literally: To understand whistles as flasks
Category: Daily Life
Origin: The rhyming pair fischi/fiaschi pictures hearing one thing as something entirely different.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Avere un chiodo fisso — To be obsessed with one idea.
- Tirar o pai da forca — Said of something done in frantic urgency.
- Гол как сокол (Gol kak sokol) — Dirt poor; without a thing to your name.
- 石橋を叩いて渡る (Ishibashi o tataite wataru) — To be extremely, even excessively, cautious.
- 釘を刺す (kugi o sasu) — To remind someone firmly so they can't back out.
- 班门弄斧 (bān mén nòng fǔ) — To display feeble skill before a true master.
More Italian idioms
- Essere in gamba — To be sharp, capable and on the ball.
- Fare orecchie da mercante — To turn a deaf ear deliberately.
- Non sapere che pesci pigliare — To be at a complete loss what to do.
- arrampicarsi sugli specchi — to attempt to defend an indefensible position or grasp at straws.
- per amore o per forza — by any means necessary; whether one wishes it or not.
- mettere radici — to settle in a place permanently or commit to something long-term.
From our untranslatable words
- Menefreghista — Someone who has made not caring into an entire stance — indifference as a way of life.
- Apericena — The evening drink whose accompanying buffet is generous enough to replace dinner altogeth…
- Abbiocco — The heavy, irresistible drowsiness that comes after a large meal — the post-lunch stupor…