/il ˈnɔttʃolo ˈdella kwesˈtjone/ lit. ‘the stone of the question’
Italian idiom, everyday. That’s the central point that everything else depends on.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Italian speaker.
How do people use Il nocciolo della questione
?
Everyday and a bit businesslike, at home in meetings, debates and newspaper columns as well as at the dinner table. It usually comes with a verb of getting there: “arriviamo al nocciolo della questione”, “veniamo al nocciolo”, or a plain “ecco il nocciolo della questione”. You can drop “della questione” once the topic is clear.
Also said il nocciolo del problema, arrivare al nocciolo
Il nocciolo della questione
in real sentences
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È il nocciolo della questione.
That’s the heart of the matter.
Tatoeba, sentence by Guybrush88, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Questo era il nocciolo della questione.
This was the heart of the matter.
Tatoeba, sentence by bruno_b, translation by qdii, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Il nocciolo della questione
come from?
A “nòcciolo” is the hard stone inside a cherry or an apricot, and English Wiktionary traces the word, probably, to Latin “nucleus”. Treccani gives the figurative sense as the main, essential point a problem comes down to, with “il nocciolo della questione” as its first example. English Wiktionary quotes Leonardo da Vinci calling the heart “il nocciolo” from which the tree of veins grows, an early figurative use, though not yet about arguments.
Mistakes learners make with Il nocciolo della questione
Stressing the wrong syllable. “Nòcciolo”, stressed on the first syllable, is the fruit stone and the crux, while “nocciòlo” is the hazel tree, so “il nocciòlo della questione” puts a hazel tree in the middle of your argument.
Other Italian idioms like Il nocciolo della questione
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