Langauge – My Italian Slang

This is a “work in progress” and is a collection of Italian slang words and expressions I (un vecchio) know and use.

I was quite surprised at how many I understood, but fortunately I don’t use most of them. The key thing is that using swear words (parolaccia) almost always sounds artificial and thus the impact is lost.

Warning – some of the words are quite vulgar, and luckily I have forgotten the most vulgar ones…

Al fresco – in cool/fresh air, and dining al fresco means eating outside, e.g. on a terrace. It is also often used to mean prison/jail (slammer). In technical-legal terminology, it’s used for the place and not the condition of the convicted person (detenuto). The expression was used by Dante Alighieri in the XXXII Canto dell’Inferno. He referred to the damned, buried for eternity in the frozen lake of Cocytus when he wrote “là dove i peccatori stanno freschi” (where sinners are fresh).

Azzeccare – “to hit the nail on the head”, or to guess right, as in “non ne azzecca una” (I didn’t get one right) and “risposta azzeccata” (right reply). It actually comes from the Middle High German zecken “to strike a blow” (hit the mark).

Buttare – to throw away without aiming at anything (considered “stronger” than gettare). Comes from Provençal botar, and from the Frankish bōtan (to hit). Expressions include “buttare in aria” (can mean to throw away an opportunity), “buttare in mezzo a una strada” (throw in the middle of a street, meaning to ruin something, or to throw out) “butta via quella sigaretta!” (throw away that cigarette!), “non è roba da buttar via” (not to be thrown away, it could still be useful or something not to be despised), “butta via i soldi” (throw away money), “buttato giù” (can mean to have knocked down something like a wall, and/or to discredit or to depreciate), “buttò giù un boccone alla svelta” (quickly eat something), “buttarsi dalla finestra” (throw yourself out of the window), “buttarsi in mare” (throw yourself in the sea, may just mean to go for a swim) “buttarsi sul letto” (throw yourself on the bed), and the often used “buttarsi” (to set out to do something with determination or to abandon oneself without restraint).

Cica (plural ciche) – nothing not at all

Coglione (plural coglioni) – comes from the Latin coleo -onis, from coleus “testicle”. Expressions generally use the plural as with “rompere i coglioni” (to break .. , meaning to bother, annoy or irritate). Can be used to refer to a person as an idiot or fool.

espressione usando Coglione

https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/

Culo (diminutive culétto or culìno, augmentative culóne, pejorative culàccio) – vulgar for ass, bottom, buttocks, butt, anus, but also means luck

Faccia di merda/faccia da culo – vulgar for a ugly person or somehow you don’t like

Fanculo – fuck, fuck you, fuck off, fuck it, fuck that

Fica (plural fiche) – vulgar for pussy or a sexually attractive woman

- che figata!
  
  how cool!

finocchio m (plural finocchi)

(botany) fennel synonym ▲

Synonym: (Venetian slang) fenocio
(slang,vulgar,derogatory) queer, poof, nancyboy, faggot [from 1863] synonyms ▲

Synonyms: omosessuale, (Venetian slang) fenocio, frocio, ricchione

fótter si (first-person singular present mi fótto, first-person singular past historic mi fottéi, past participle fottùto)

reflexive of fottere
(slang) to be indifferent; to not give a fuck
to fuck oneself

fregàre (first-person singular present frégo, first-person singular past historic fregài, past participle fregàto, auxiliary avére)

to rub
to polish
(colloquial, slang) to cheat
to pinch, nick or knock off
(colloquial, slang) to swipe (to steal or snatch)
(transitive, vulgar, slang) to fuck, to screw synonyms ▲

incazzàr si (first-person singular present mi incàzzo, first-person singular past historic mi incazzài, past participle incazzàto)