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

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