[Italian Lesson] Do you have hairs on your tongue?

Ciao!

Today’s bite-sized lesson is all about idioms.

BITE-SIZED LESSON: BODY-RELATED IDIOMS

One of my favorite ways to learn new vocabulary is by learning common idioms, and Italian has no shortage of them! Below you’ll find 5 body-related idioms that I love.

1) Aver fegato – To have a liver, or to be really brave

• La principessa ha salvato la città; lei sì che ha fegato! – The princess has rescued the town; she’s really brave!

2) Essere in gamba – To be in leg, literally. What it means that someone is a really great, upstanding person

• Lei mi ha sempre aiutato, è veramente una persona in gamba. – She’s always helped me, she’s really a good person.

3) Avere peli sulla lingua – To have hairs on the tongue. To not speak frankly.

• Lui ha sempre peli sulla lingua, magari mi dicesse cosa sente! – He never speaks frankly, I wish he would just tell me what he feels!

4) Farsi le ossa – To make the bones. Meaning to work your way up or to go through difficult things to reach a certain place in life.

• Devo farmi le ossa. – I need to make my bones.

5) Alzarsi con il piede sbagliato – To get up with the wrong foot. Meaning to feel irritated, cranky.

• Il capo stamattina si è alzato con il piede sbagliato: non fa altro che dare ordini a tutti. – The chief today got up with the wrong foot: he keeps on giving orders to everyone.

Have questions? Hit reply!

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