Italiancavare le castagne dal fuoco
Meaning: To help someone out of a dangerous or difficult situation, often at one's own risk or effort.
Literally: To pull the chestnuts from the fire
Example: “È sempre lei a cavare le castagne dal fuoco per il fratello.” — She's always the one who bails her brother out.
English equivalent: To bail someone out
Equivalents in other languages
Spanish: sacar las castañas del fuego Literally: To pull the chestnuts out of the fire
English: bail someone out
Origin: The full saying is cavar le castagne dal fuoco con la zampa del gatto, to pull the chestnuts out of the fire with the cat's paw. It comes from La Fontaine's fable Le Singe et le Chat (Fables IX, 17), in which the monkey gets the cat to fish roasting chestnuts out of the fire, burning its paws, while the monkey eats them. The Hoepli dictionary notes that it can mean taking a risk for someone else or making someone else take it.
More Italian idioms
- preparare il terreno To establish the conditions or foundations that will make something possible later.
- come butta What is happening; how are things going.
- girare a vuoto To spin idly without accomplishing anything; to waste time in aimless activity.
- adagiarsi sugli allori To become complacent and stop making efforts after past successes.
- mettere le corna To commit infidelity against a partner; to cuckold someone.
- alla bell'e meglio In a sloppy, careless, or makeshift manner; doing something poorly for lack of effort or…
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Meriggiare To take a quiet midday rest in a cool, shaded spot, escaping the fierce afternoon sun.
- Magari One word doing the work of 'if only', 'I wish', 'perhaps' and 'you bet' — the tone decide…
- Sprezzatura The art of making something difficult look wholly effortless, hiding every trace of the w…
Keep exploring