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 talking.
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lit. ‘lead the dog around the threshing floor’
To avoid saying the important thing directly.
Elsewhere
- EN Beat around the bush
- FR Tourner autour du pot
- DE Um den heißen Brei herumreden
- ES Irse por las ramas
- JA お茶を濁す
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lit. ‘take for a spin’
To tease someone by telling them something untrue as a joke.
Elsewhere
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lit. ‘empty the sack’
To reveal a secret, often by accident.
Elsewhere
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Mentire per la gola
lit. ‘to lie through the throat’
To lie shamelessly while knowing full well it isn't true.
Elsewhere
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lit. ‘to jump from pole to leafy branch’
To jump suddenly from one topic to a completely unrelated one.
Elsewhere
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lit. ‘make an elephant out of a fly’
To treat a small problem as if it were a big one.
Phrases in bold with a red marker are written up. The rest are waiting for their own page and a check by a native speaker.