Prendere lucciole per lanterne
Meaning: To be completely and badly mistaken.
Language: Italian
Literally: To mistake fireflies for lanterns
Category: Nature
Origin: Confusing a faint firefly for a bright lantern pictures a gross error of perception or judgment.
Equivalents in other languages
- English: bark up the wrong tree — literally: to bark up the wrong tree
- German: Auf dem Holzweg sein — literally: To be on the timber track
- Norwegian: Å være ute og sykle — literally: To be out cycling
More idioms — Nature
- Ficar a ver navios — To be left disappointed and empty-handed.
- Att kasta yxan i sjön — To give up completely.
- At save den gren over man selv sidder på — To undermine your own position.
- At gå over åen efter vand — To do something in a needlessly roundabout way.
- Mennä metsään — To go completely wrong.
- Házet flintu do žita — To give up prematurely.
More Italian idioms
- Rimanere in mutande — To be left penniless.
- Tutto fa brodo — Every little bit helps.
- Capire fischi per fiaschi — To misunderstand completely.
- 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.
From our tongue twisters
- Tigre contro tigre, tigre contro un'altra tigre. — Pure 't/ig/re' drill — short and merciless; the double-g demands a crisp Italian stop.
- Apelle figlio di Apollo fece una palla di pelle di pollo e tutti i principi della città di Capua la palpeggiarono. — A wall of 'p/ll/l/a' that seems to grow longer as you speak it faster.
- Se la serpe si avvicina alla siepe del serpente, il serpente scappa dalla siepe. — A sibilant 's/se/si/sci' minefield; both words (serpe and serpente) slither through the s…