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 — Dirt poor; without a thing to your name.
• 石橋を叩いて渡る — To be extremely, even excessively, cautious.
• 釘を刺す — To remind someone firmly so they can't back out.
• 班门弄斧 — 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.

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