Idioms Flashcards
To be worth it
Vale la pena
(Valere- to be worth)
Pena- pain, penalty
valgo
vali
vale
valiamo
valete
valgono
(Valga subjunctive io tu lui)
Fare
fare il biglietto- to purchase a ticket
fare la fila/la coda to stand/wait in line
fare la spesa to go grocery shopping
fare lo shopping/le spese to go shopping
fare ginnastica/sport to exercise/do sports
fare forca/chiodo to play hookey
fare una domanda to ask a question
fare una fotografia to take a picture
fare una passeggiata to take a walk
fare un giro to go for a ride or a stroll
fare colazione to have breakfast
fare un viaggio to take a trip
fare il bagno/la doccia to swim or bathe/to take a shower
fare un capello in quattro to split hairs
fare castelli in aria to daydream
fare finta to pretend
fare il possibile/di tutto to do everything possible
fare del proprio meglio to do one’s best
fare amicizia to make friends
fare alla romana to split the check
fare il pieno to fill up the gas tank
fare la pipì/fare i bisogni to tinkle/go to the bathroom
fare il callo to get used to something negative
fare la bocca to get used to something good
fare confusione to make noise/create confusion
fare da sé to handle something on one’s own
fare danno to cause damage
fare festa to take the day off
fare lo stupido/il cretino to act stupidly
fare il bravo to act nicely
fare attenzione to pay attention
fare male/fare bene to harm/do good (or act wrongly or rightly)
fare fatica to struggle
fare tardi/presto to be late/early
fare in tempo to manage to do something on time
fare fronte a to face something (figuratively)
fare bella/brutta figura to look good/bad/make a good or bad impression
fare a meno to do without something
fare torto a qualcuno to wrong someone
fare a botte to brawl
fare piacere to please
fare schifo to be gross or disgusting
fare colpo to impress/make a nice showing
fare impressione to shock (negatively)
fare buon viso a cattivo gioco to smile or play along with someone’s deception or bad intent
I’ll take care of this
mi occupo di questo (Ci penso io)
Well done
Ben fatto
we worked really hard (literally “we sweated seven shirts”)
abbiamo sudato sette camicie < sudare
let’s roll up (our) sleeves!
rimbocchiamoci le maniche! < rimboccarsi
if you want something done, do it yourself
chi fa da sé, fa per tre
(Who does for self, does for 3)
They say whatever is on their mind- don’t mince words (they don’t have hair on their tongue)
non hanno peli sulla lingua…”
(They don’t have hair on their tongue)
Read between the lines
Capire l’antifona”
He is smart/good
Lui è in gamba
What a twist!
Che colpo di scena!
to be on cloud nine, to be in seventh heaven
essere al settimo cielo
Eureka moment
lampo di genio (m)
(Ho avuto un lampo di genio) I had a stroke of genius
you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
a caval donato non si guarda in bocca
He knew like the back of his hand
conosceva come le sue tasche
