Common Idiomatic Expressions
The following expressions apply to a great variety of situations and are commonly used and understood throughout the Italian peninsula. Most can be used in both formal and informal situations.
Common Idiomatic Expressions
What Your Teacher Never Taught You!
By no means exhaustive nor rife with vulgarities, the following list contains some colorful expressions to be used in a variety of situations.
accidenti |
a mild expletive, like darn or heck |
alito puzzolente |
bad breath |
amore a prima vista |
love at first sight |
arrapare |
to become sexually excited |
bel niente |
nothing, nada, zip |
bischero (Tuscany) |
a stupid person |
casino |
a lot or a mess |
Mi è piaciuto un casino. |
I liked it a lot. |
Io ci sono stato un casino di volte. |
I've been there many a time. |
Che casino! |
What a mess! |
chiudere il becco |
to shut up, to shut one's trap |
fannullone |
a lazy bum |
fregare |
to cheat or swindle somebody (mildly offensive) |
Non me ne frega niente. |
I don't give a damn. |
Mi ha fregato! |
He screwed me! |
fuori di testa |
to be out of one's mind |
leccaculo or leccapiedi |
ass licker or brownnoser |
mollare qualcuno |
to dump someone |
morire dalla noia |
to die of boredom |
parolaccia |
dirty word |
pigrone/a |
a lazy bum |
portare male gli anni |
to age badly |
roba da matti |
crazy stuff |
preso in giro |
to be made fun of, made a fool of |
scemo/a |
a stupid person, a jerk |
schifo |
disgust, grossness |
Che schifo! |
Ew! Gross! |
Mi fa schifo. |
It grosses me out. |
scocciare |
to irritate or annoy |
valere la pena |
to be worth the trouble |

