Italian Idioms

A curated set of 90 idioms in Italian — literal translations, real meanings, and where each one comes from.

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• In bocca al lupo — Good luck! (replied with 'Crepi!' — may it die). Literally: Into the mouth of the wolf.
• Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco — Things don't always go as planned. Literally: Not all donuts come out with a hole.
• Avere le braccine corte — To be stingy; to never reach for the check. Literally: To have short little arms.
• Cadere a fagiolo — To arrive at exactly the perfect moment. Literally: To fall like a bean.
• Fare il diavolo a quattro — To raise absolute hell; to cause a huge scene. Literally: To make the devil times four.
• Chi dorme non piglia pesci — You snooze, you lose. Literally: He who sleeps doesn't catch fish.
• Acqua in bocca — Keep it secret; don't tell anyone. Literally: Water in the mouth.
• Essere al verde — To be broke; to have no money left. Literally: To be at the green.
• avere la coda di paglia — Feel guilty about something because you're afraid of being discovered or criticized. Literally: to have a straw tail.
• mangiare la foglia — Understand someone's hidden intentions or see through their deception immediately. Literally: to eat the leaf.
• avere un diavolo per capello — Be extremely angry or agitated, ready to argue with anyone about anything. Literally: to have a devil for each hair.
• essere un osso duro — Be a difficult, stubborn person who is challenging to deal with or influence. Literally: to be a hard bone.
• piangere sul latte versato — Waste time regretting something that cannot be changed or undone. Literally: to cry over spilled milk.
• Prendere due piccioni con una fava — To achieve two goals with a single effort. Literally: To catch two pigeons with one fava bean.
• Avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca — To want to have it both ways. Literally: To have the barrel full and the wife drunk.
• Ogni morte di papa — Extremely rarely; once in a blue moon. Literally: Every death of a pope.
• Avere gli occhi foderati di prosciutto — To be unable to see what is right in front of you. Literally: To have eyes lined with ham.
• Fare le corna — To ward off bad luck — or to signal that a partner is being unfaithful. Literally: To make the horns.
• Tagliare la testa al toro — To settle a matter decisively, once and for all. Literally: To cut the bull's head off.
• Avere le mani in pasta — To be deeply involved in something. Literally: To have your hands in the dough.
• Stare con le mani in mano — To stand around doing nothing while others work. Literally: To stand with your hands in your hand.
• Non ci piove — There's no doubt about it whatsoever. Literally: It doesn't rain on it.
• Non avere peli sulla lingua — To speak bluntly and hold nothing back. Literally: To have no hairs on your tongue.
• Liscio come l'olio — To go off without a hitch. Literally: Smooth as oil.
• Fare il portoghese — To sneak in without paying. Literally: To do the Portuguese.
• Avere le mani bucate — To be a spendthrift. Literally: To have holed hands.
• Prendere lucciole per lanterne — To be completely and badly mistaken. Literally: To mistake fireflies for lanterns.
• Rimanere in mutande — To be left penniless. Literally: To be left in your underwear.
• Tutto fa brodo — Every little bit helps. Literally: Everything makes broth.
• Capire fischi per fiaschi — To misunderstand completely. Literally: To understand whistles as flasks.
• Essere in gamba — To be sharp, capable and on the ball. Literally: To be in leg.
• Fare orecchie da mercante — To turn a deaf ear deliberately. Literally: To make merchant's ears.
• Non sapere che pesci pigliare — To be at a complete loss what to do. Literally: To not know which fish to catch.
• Avere un chiodo fisso — To be obsessed with one idea. Literally: To have a fixed nail.
• arrampicarsi sugli specchi — to attempt to defend an indefensible position or grasp at straws. Literally: to climb on mirrors.
• per amore o per forza — by any means necessary; whether one wishes it or not. Literally: for love or for force.
• mettere radici — to settle in a place permanently or commit to something long-term. Literally: to put down roots.
• tirare l'acqua al proprio mulino — to act in self-interest, redirecting resources or advantage to oneself. Literally: to pull the water to one's own mill.
• tenere a freno la lingua — to refrain from speaking; to keep silent. Literally: to hold back the tongue.
• in pompa magna — with ceremony, grandeur, and great fanfare. Literally: in great pomp.
• alle calende greche — never; at an impossible or non-existent time. Literally: on the Greek calends.
• farsene un baffo — to not care at all; to be indifferent to something. Literally: to make oneself a mustache of it.
• sulle spine — In a state of anxious suspense or nervous tension, unable to relax. Literally: on thorns.
• a gambe levate — With great speed or haste, moving rapidly or impetuously. Literally: at raised legs.
• pendaglio da forca — A person who deserves to be hanged; a worthless scoundrel. Literally: gallows pendant.
• mi sa — I suppose, I guess, or I have the impression. Literally: to me it knows.
• nei panni di — In the position, role, or situation of someone else; in their shoes. Literally: in the clothes of.
• alla lontana — In an indirect or roundabout way; distantly or remotely connected. Literally: in the distance.
• menare il can per l'aia — To avoid the main point by talking around the subject indirectly. Literally: to lead the dog through the courtyard.
• con il piede sbagliato — To start something badly or get off to a poor beginning. Literally: with the wrong foot.
• togliere il fiato — To leave someone astonished or breathless with amazement. Literally: to take away the breath.
• andare a nozze — To be perfectly suited or to delight in something. Literally: to go to a wedding.
• calcio dell'asino — A cowardly or treacherous attack from an unexpected quarter. Literally: kick of the donkey.
• a bocca asciutta — Hungry and wanting food, or disappointed and empty-handed. Literally: with dry mouth.
• alle corde — In a desperate or losing position, cornered. Literally: at the ropes.
• mela marcia — A person who is corrupt or morally bad and whose influence damages those around them. Literally: rotten apple.
• toccare il fondo — To reach the lowest point of degradation or despair; to hit rock bottom. Literally: to touch the bottom.
• mettere fuori combattimento — To silence someone or exclude them from participation and influence. Literally: to put out of combat.
• dannarsi l'anima — To work extremely hard or exert oneself to the utmost. Literally: to damn one's soul.
• guardarsi alle spalle — To remain vigilant and aware of dangers or threats that might come from behind. Literally: to look behind oneself at the shoulders.
• qui casca l'asino — That is the crux of the matter; that is where the real difficulty lies. Literally: here the donkey falls.
• mettersi al passo con i tempi — To keep up with current events or modernize one's knowledge and habits. Literally: to put oneself at the step with the times.
• battere la grancassa — To advertise or publicize something widely and loudly; to spread news or promote something conspicuously. Literally: to beat the big drum.
• far battere il cuore — To cause someone to worry or to stir romantic feelings in someone. Literally: to make the heart beat.
• mandare giù — To accept or tolerate something unwillingly, often swallowing one's pride or doubts. Literally: to send down.
• con beneficio d'inventario — To accept something with skepticism or reservations, not at face value. Literally: with benefit of inventory.
• perdere il filo — To lose one's train of thought or become confused about a subject during conversation or explanation. Literally: to lose the thread.
• questione di lana caprina — A trivial or pointless debate that wastes time and produces no useful result. Literally: matter of goat's wool.
• smemorato di Collegno — A hopelessly forgetful person. Literally: the forgetful one of Collegno.
• fare a scaricabarile — To evade responsibility by shifting blame to someone else; to pass the buck. Literally: to make load-dumping.
• alla carlona — In a careless, rough, or sloppy way without regard for neatness or precision. Literally: in the Carlon manner.
• la bellezza di — A considerable quantity or duration of something, often used with mock admiration to emphasize an impressively large amount. Literally: the beauty of.
• battere i tacchi — To run away or flee hastily. Literally: to beat one's heels.
• dove non batte il sole — In a place that is dark, hidden, or not respectable; a euphemism for somewhere very undesirable. Literally: where the sun does not beat.
• fuori del seminato — Off the point; irrelevant or beside the subject at hand. Literally: outside of the sown field.
• senza colpo ferire — Without any struggle, opposition, or difficulty; achieved effortlessly. Literally: without a blow struck.
• essere di casa — To be accepted as a family member; to feel completely at home and comfortable somewhere. Literally: to be of the house.
• a viso aperto — Openly and frankly; without deception or concealment. Literally: with open face.
• cavare le castagne dal fuoco — 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.
• preparare il terreno — To establish the conditions or foundations that will make something possible later. Literally: to prepare the ground.
• come butta — What is happening; how are things going. Literally: how does it throw.
• girare a vuoto — To spin idly without accomplishing anything; to waste time in aimless activity. Literally: to turn at empty.
• adagiarsi sugli allori — To become complacent and stop making efforts after past successes. Literally: to rest oneself on the laurels.
• alla sprovvista — Without warning; caught unprepared or by surprise. Literally: at the unprepared.
• mettere le corna — To commit infidelity against a partner; to cuckold someone. Literally: to put the horns.
• alla bell'e meglio — In a sloppy, careless, or makeshift manner; doing something poorly for lack of effort or care. Literally: at the beautiful and better.
• senza capo né coda — In a senseless or disjointed way; without coherence, order, or point. Literally: without head nor tail.
• tutto d'un colpo — Suddenly; all at once; without warning or gradual transition. Literally: all of one blow.
• a casa del diavolo — Far away; a great distance to travel; the long way around. Literally: at the house of the devil.
• cattedrale nel deserto — A large industrial facility built in a remote, poorly-connected region that produces little of public value and exists mainly to provide jobs. Literally: cathedral in the desert.

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