/ˈdare i ˈnumeri/ lit. ‘to give out the numbers’
Italian idiom, familiar. To talk nonsense or tell tall stories.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Italian speaker.
How do people use Dare i numeri
?
Familiar and very common, mostly in the progressive or as a question: “stai dando i numeri?”, “ma che, dai i numeri?”. It covers talking nonsense and acting a bit crazy, so it lands as “are you out of your mind?” more often than “you’re telling stories”.
Dare i numeri
in real sentences
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Stai dando i numeri!
You’re crazy!
Tatoeba, sentence by Guybrush88, translation by BlueLagoon, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Dai i numeri?
Are you crazy?
Tatoeba, sentence by bailujia, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Dare i numeri
come from?
The numbers are lotto numbers. Treccani explains that “dare i numeri” was said of cabbalists who worked out which numbers to play, and of dead relatives who suggested them in dreams. From there it came to mean talking cryptically like a fortune teller, and more often saying things that make no sense. No date is recorded for when the figurative use began.
Mistakes learners make with Dare i numeri
Taking it literally and answering with your phone number. The numbers are lottery numbers, and nobody wants yours.
Other Italian idioms like Dare i numeri
Spot a mistake in Dare i numeri
?
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