Ogni morte di papa

Meaning: Extremely rarely; once in a blue moon.

Language: Italian

Literally: Every death of a pope

Category: Daily Life

Origin: Papal reigns are long, so a pope's death was a once-in-a-generation event for Romans — the rarest occasion the language could name.

More idioms — Daily Life

• 油を売る — To slack off or dawdle when you should be working.
• Chutar o balde — To stop caring and let everything go — unlike the English, nobody dies.
• Etekleri zil çalıyor — To be visibly bursting with joy.
• Å være ute og sykle — To be completely mistaken or to have no idea what you're talking about.
• At tisse i bukserne for at holde varmen — A quick fix that makes the problem worse soon after.
• Heittää lusikka nurkkaan — To die.

More Italian idioms

• Avere gli occhi foderati di prosciutto — To be unable to see what is right in front of you.
• Fare le corna — To ward off bad luck — or to signal that a partner is being unfaithful.
• Tagliare la testa al toro — To settle a matter decisively, once and for all.
• Avere le mani in pasta — To be deeply involved in something.
• Stare con le mani in mano — To stand around doing nothing while others work.
• Non ci piove — There's no doubt about it whatsoever.

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