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The bellissimo reputation of Italian automaker Fiat… proven valid.
Fiat Grande Punto (Photo credit: Wikipedia) “F.I.A.T. = Fix it again, Tony,” was my uncle’s response to the story I’m about to tell. I was pretty sure that phrase was born out of some sort of prejudice...
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Itanglish: “stop romping my palles”
a man’s palles being romped To “romp one’s palles“ is a fantastic Italian phrase that I have Americanized to the point of sheer embarrassment. In order to get the full effect, remember to use this with...
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Itanglish: “The fighettoness here is killing me.”
The word ‘fighetto‘ has recently become somewhat of a staple in my ever evolving Itanglish vocabulary. The word gets thrown around a lot especially amongst people we know who are originally from Parma...
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From ‘cool’ to ‘c***’ : 50 shades of genitaliano slang.
Figs (Photo credit: Mundoo) What Valentine’s Day is complete without an extensive discussion of Italian slang derived from female private parts? Somehow, between the chocolate covered strawberries and...
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Please, please, don’t name your baby something that translates to ‘butt hole’...
How do you tactfully beg this of your fiance’s brother at their mother’s dinner table? This was the task I was charged with one memorable evening two years ago. We were summoned to a dinner meeting of...
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What do Chef Boyardee and Häagen-Dazs have in common?
Apparently they are both creeping Americans out on a mass level. They are also both making me pee a little bit in my pants every time I hear or see their completely ridiculous, over-the-top, absurd...
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Italian marketing mistake #2: ‘Soffass’ toilet paper
The most interesting discoveries can come from lack of reading material while you’re on the toilet. This one cracked me up a bit… Clearly someone noted the problem, changed the name, and demoted the...
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Looking back on one year of marriage… to an Italian man.
I added that last part of the title in there just be clear that we’re all on the same page. June 12th was my one year wedding anniversary with my Italiano (yes, I’m a month behind with my posts… shut...
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Italian pronunciation: papà, Papa, e pappa (the father, the Pope and the holy...
Am I the only nutcase English-speaking expat who has problems with these words? Better question - am I the only nutcase who uses visualization techniques?
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Looking back on 5 years as a foreigner in Italy… with graphs!
Adapting to a new culture can be a tumultuous process. It's a mistake to not talk about the difficult parts of living in Italy, for fear of ruining the fairy tale image. (For those of you who don't...
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Pointing the finger at me: My 5 biggest mistakes as an immigrant expat in Italy.
In an effort to stay on the happy side of life, I've decided that I should first point the finger at myself. So, let's all breathe and take a look at some of the crazy crap we foreigners in Italy try...
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“The Trailing Ciao” and other Italian telephone tips.
Speaking on the phone in another language is difficult. Successfully achieving this step represents a whole new plateau in your language skillz (with a z). Here's some tips on how to artfully conduct a...
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Fuori come un balcone (and other ways to call Italians crazy)
Can we just take a moment to talk about one of my absolute favorite phrases in the Italian language?
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The case of the mysterious blue underwear.
The super stealth detective skills of yours truly, put to the test in the ultimate question: "did my Italian man cheat on me?"
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Letting some air out.
The subtle yet GREAT difference between "scoraggiato" and "scoreggiato".
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