/ˈprɛndere ˈdue pitˈtʃoni kon ˈuna ˈfava/ lit. ‘catch two pigeons with one bean’
Italian idiom, everyday. To get two things done with a single action.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Italian speaker.
How do people use Prendere due piccioni con una fava
?
Everyday Italian, the standard way to say it, and fine anywhere. Conjugate prendere and leave the rest alone: “ho preso due piccioni con una fava”, “così prendi due piccioni con una fava”. Pigliare instead of prendere sounds more Tuscan or old-fashioned.
Also said pigliare due piccioni con una fava
Prendere due piccioni con una fava
in real sentences
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Ho preso due piccioni con una fava.
I killed two birds with one stone.
Tatoeba, sentence by Guybrush88, translation by keira_n, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Così prendo due piccioni con una fava.
That way I kill two birds with one stone.
Tatoeba, sentence by Guybrush88, translation by Dejo, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Prendere due piccioni con una fava
come from?
Nobody seems to know who first said it. The picture is a bird catcher’s: one broad bean (fava) as bait brings in two pigeons. The Treccani dictionary lists it under both fava and piccione as a common proverbial phrase meaning to get two advantages at once, and gives the older-sounding pigliare as an alternative verb, but no date.
Mistakes learners make with Prendere due piccioni con una fava
Translating the English and killing the birds: “uccidere due uccelli con una pietra” isn’t the Italian idiom. Italians catch (prendere) their pigeons, and they do it with a bean.
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?
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