idioms ecc

// ecc is Italian for etc

I thought I'd note on here a couple of idioms. They're cute and fun.

1) There's a saying in Italian : e una barba

It's a way of describing something that's boring, such as a book, a subject at school, a film etc. It means "it's a beard" and the idea of it is that it's so boring and takes so long to finish, that you grow a beard while trying to get through it.

Similarly, una barbone is "a bearded one", and it's their word for hobo.

Both seem appropriate, no?

2) costa un occhio della testa

In English we say it costs an arm and a leg, in Italian it's "it costs an eye from the head". I like that the translation from Italian to English rhymes with our own saying, and I like how evocative it is.

3) In bocca al lupo. Crepi il lupo!

Much the same way that we say "break a leg" to wish someone good luck, the Italians say "in the mouth of the wolf". How you respond is important - you must say crepi il lupo. The literal translation is "may the wolf die" but a more accurate translation is "to hell with the wolf". If you say thank you, you will spoil your good luck!