menare il can per l'aia
Meaning: To avoid the main point by talking around the subject indirectly.
Language: Italian
Literally: to lead the dog through the courtyard
Category: Animals
Origin: The image is of someone wasting time by leading a dog in circles through a farmyard instead of getting to business.
More idioms — Animals
- calcio dell'asino — A cowardly or treacherous attack from an unexpected quarter.
- qui casca l'asino — That is the crux of the matter; that is where the real difficulty lies.
- questione di lana caprina — A trivial or pointless debate that wastes time and produces no useful result.
- virar bicho — To become extremely angry or enraged.
- vaca sagrada — Something so valued or protected that it cannot be criticized, changed, or harmed.
- matar cachorro a grito — To be extremely poor or destitute.
More Italian idioms
- con il piede sbagliato — To start something badly or get off to a poor beginning.
- togliere il fiato — To leave someone astonished or breathless with amazement.
- andare a nozze — To be perfectly suited or to delight in something.
- a bocca asciutta — Hungry and wanting food, or disappointed and empty-handed.
- 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.
From our untranslatable words
- 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…