Each Italian idiom below comes with what its words literally say, what it means and how other languages put the same idea. To see every language at once, open the side-by-side page for other people.
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lit. ‘break the boxes’
To annoy or irritate someone.
Elsewhere
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lit. ‘to throw someone a parcel’
To not turn up for a date or meeting without telling the other person.
Elsewhere
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lit. ‘to have someone in your fist’
To have someone so charmed or devoted that they'll do whatever you want.
Elsewhere
- EN Wrap someone around your little finger
- FR Mener quelqu’un par le bout du nez
- DE Jemanden um den Finger wickeln
- ES Tener a alguien comiendo de la mano
- JA 牛耳る
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lit. ‘they’re not my cabbages’
This isn't my problem, so I'm not getting involved.
Elsewhere
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Non me ne importa un fico secco
lit. ‘I don’t care a dried fig’
To not care about something at all.
Elsewhere
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lit. ‘to look for the hair in the egg’
To argue about tiny details that don't matter.
Elsewhere
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lit. ‘to play the leading lady’
To want special treatment that nobody else gets.
Elsewhere
- EN A prima donna
- FR Se prendre pour le nombril du monde
- DE Eine Extrawurst verlangen
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lit. ‘pull the rope too hard’
Don't push it, that's going too far.
Elsewhere
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lit. ‘like two drops of water’
To look or be almost exactly alike.
Elsewhere
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lit. ‘to play barrel-dumping’
To shift the blame onto someone else.
Elsewhere
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lit. ‘to give yourself airs’
To brag about yourself.
Elsewhere
- EN Blow your own trumpet
- FR Se jeter des fleurs
- DE Große Töne spucken
- ES Pavonearse
- JA 鼻にかける
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lit. ‘like dog and cat’
Two people who are always arguing.
Elsewhere
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lit. ‘to be mush and meat’
Two people who are very close friends.
Elsewhere
Phrases in bold with a red marker are written up. The rest don’t have their own page yet.