Monthly archive: January 2008

Mi fa male la gamba destra
My right leg hurts
Literally: 'To-me (it) does/makes bad the leg right'.

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The other night I was woken up several times by painful leg cramps. I spent most of yesterday limping and my right calf still hurts today. Any ideas what that could be? And please don't mention it could be age-related, my birthday is coming up and I am more than a bit sensitive around the issue these days, thank you very much.

Aspetto, forse passa.
I'll wait, maybe it goes away.
Literally: '(I) wait, maybe (it) passes'.

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Another complicated construction that differs in Italian: body parts do not hurt, they do bad to you.

Of course, if you find the syntax too hrd to grasp, you can always use the other, more commonly used Italian way to say that something hurts, which is clutching the body part in question with a painful expression and throwing yourself on the ground grunting 'Aaah'. Yes, we are taught that at school with our ABC.

View with mistrust.

Read more about look askance at Answers.com

Di solito esco di casa alle sette e mezza.
I usually leave home at half past seven.
Literally: 'Of usual (I) go-out of house/home at-the seven and half'.

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Morning transport is bad, but I found that I can shave off 20 minutes from my commute – and have enough room in the train to hold my book open – if I leave ten minutes earlier.

Unfortunately it seems that yesterday everybody else had the same idea, and that altered my mood from bad to superbad.

I can't afford to have two superbad days in a row, so today I am starting my journey at seven to beat the crowds.

Oggi esco mezz'ora prima.
Today I'm leaving half an hour earlier.
Literally: 'Today (I) go-out half'hour before'.

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When you tell the time, you must put an article ('the') before the number, which I agree is rather odd. I think what is implied is the word 'ore' (hours).

The full translation of 'It is seven o'clock' (now only used for very formal announcements) would be:

Sono le ore sette
(They) are the hours seven

'Ore' is usually dropped, but its article ('le') remains.

To leap about playfully; frolic.

Read more about gambol at Answers.com

Mi sento un po' Cenerentola
I'm feeling a bit like Cinderella
Literally: 'Myself (I) feel a bit Cinderella'.

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Went to a party organised by a friend, a big corporate do hosted by Alex Zane, saw a couple of live acts (Helen Boulding and Richard Fleeshman, might have missed more at the beginning).

Met friends there, indulged in free booze… but then good old responsible me stopped after the fourth bottle of Brahma, said my goodbyes and headed home, just as Jodie Harsh was taking over the decks.

Because unfortunately

Domani lavoro
I'm working tomorrow
Literally: 'Tomorrow (I) work'.

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Marked by stouthearted courage; brave.

Read more about doughty at Answers.com

Non capisco cosa è successo
I don't understand what happened
Literally: 'Not (I) understand what is happened'.

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Yesterday Facebook matched my ex boyfriend's email to his profile, so I added him as a friend. I received the usual email notification saying 'So and so edited details on how you know each other. Click here to confirm'.

I clicked, but there was no trace of him anywhere. I have no idea what happened. Maybe…

Forse non vuole essere mio amico.
Perhaps he does not want to be my friend.
Literally: 'Perhaps not (he) want to-be my friend'.

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Here are the websites I bookmarked into my del.icio.us account over the past seven days:

• Feed Count | WordPress Plugin
  WordPress plugin that displays the number of subscribers to your feedburner feed.
• Tasks Jr. | web-based task manager
  'Tasks Jr. is a basic but powerful web-based task manager/to-do list. [...] to keep track of [...] tasks and access them from a Windows box at work, a Mac at home, and a Treo on the go.'

To toil; slave.

Read more about moil at Answers.com

Minimela e maxifragola
Mini-apple and maxi-strawberry
Literally: 'Mini-apple and maxi-strawberry'.

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I'll admit it: this was the smallest apple I could find in my bag of Tesco value odd-sized ones (not glossy enough to be marked up and sold on as 'Fun-size snack apples', I guess).

Still, Dr B.'s monster strawberry is huuuge. But that's alright, because Tesco's stupid nutritional labelling says that it's only 22 calories a serving (a serving being ten strawberries).

Not ten of these babies, sweetheart.

La fragola è più grande della mela
The strawberry is bigger than the apple
Literally: 'The strawberry is more big of-the apple'.

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Good news: some things are much easier to say in Italian than they are in English. Take 'more than', for instance. I'll use the words 'pretty' and 'handsome' as an example (which by the way in Italian are conveniently 'bella' and 'bello'):

• prettier than = più bella di
• more handsome than = più bello di

And that's all. No need to know whether the word you are using takes the ending -er (harder, better, faster, stronger) or needs to follow the 'more … than' pattern (more tired, more interesting, more hardworking). They will all be translated as 'più … di'.

'Migliore' (better) and 'peggiore' (worse) are the only exceptions I can think of that are commonly used.

Strange or unearthly; eerie.

Read more about eldritch at Answers.com

1. Firefox offers no option to temporarily disable Flash, but you can do that with add-ons (Adblock or Flashblock).
2. The BBC's definition of 'licence fee payer' includes not only licence holders, but also 'any other person in the UK who watches, listens to or uses any BBC service, or may do so or wish to do so in the future' (via ia play).
3. Twitter tips may be contextual after all. Just too many coincidences between the content of the updates and the tips added by Twitter, like 'bitful is waiting for the tube home but wishing to be beamed there instead' – Twitter suggests 'Go for a long walk'.
4. 'Unlike paper and plastic, steel can be melted down and recast indefinitely; it has no structural memory' (via kottke.org).
5. Irish has no words for "yes" and "no". The answer to a question contains a repetition of the verb, either with or without a negative particle.
6. The widespread practice to wrap a website's logo in a h1 tag may not improve accessibility as much as expected. Some advocate a better use of h1 to mark the main topic of the page, rather than wasting it on an element that is obvious and consistent throughout a website. Some suggest wrapping logo/name and tagline as td and tt in a dl instead.
7. 'The coffee you grab on the way to work may contain up to a fifth of your daily recommended calories'.

Oggi mangiamo uova e pancetta per colazione
Today we are having eggs and bacon for breakfast
Literally: 'Today (we) eat eggs and bacon for breakfast'

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Do you want to get rid of that little bit of extra weight you put on at Christmas? You are still in time to turn into a gay man and book yourself on a flight to Australia to attend Sydney Mardi Gras. The pressure to look fabulous will keep all temptations away and you'll soon swap evenings on the couch scoffing chocolates for runs on the treadmill chugging protein shakes.

Yes we are on a diet. But today I am going to make Dr B. happy and satisfy yesterday's request to have bacon (from Tesco's Healthy Eating range) and eggs (poached) for breakfast.

And then we'll rush to the gym to burn it all off.

Dobbiamo essere in forma per Mardi Gras
We must be in shape for Mardi Gras
Literally: '(We) must be in shape for Mardi Gras'.

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You cannot translate 'What are you having' literally in Italian, it simply would not make sense. Instead, you can ask 'Cosa mangi?' (What are you eating) or 'Cosa bevi?' (What are you drinking?). Just like in English, these questions can translate both the enquiry about what is actually eating/drinking that very moment, or the question 'What would you like to eat/drink'.

The Italian equivalent of Mardi Gras would be 'Martedì grasso'. However, in this case you'd probably say it in English because it's the name of a specific event. Besides, Dr B. enjoys poking fun at me when I speak Italian and then suddenly an English word sticks out like a sore thumb.

To talk incoherently or aimlessly. To move or act aimlessly or vaguely; wander.

Read more about maunder at Answers.com

Mi vergogno di essere italiano
I am ashamed to be Italian
Literally: 'Myself (I) shame of being Italian'.

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An Italian senator who announced he wanted to switch back to support the government (after his party withdrew from the ruling coalition, thereby causing the prime minister to resign and the government to fall), was called a "piece of shit, traitor, cuckold, queer".

Another senator made a hand gesture as if to shoot him, and a colleague called him "wretched poof".

The insulted senator was reportedly spat on, fainted and was carried out of the Senate on a stretcher.

So today's sad Italian lesson is that regardless of their sexuality (I have a hunch that the insulted senator is as straight as they come), queer, faggot and poof are handy words that in 2008 are still perfectly apt to be used at all levels and in all official circumstances to describe your opponents.

• Prodi resigns after losing vote
• Senato, Cusumano annuncia il sì aggredito e offeso anche da An

Non torno spesso in Italia
I don't go back to Italy often
Literally: '(I) not return often in Italy'.

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Meaningless or deceptive language; humbug.

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Andiamo in vacanza con gli amici
We are going on holiday with friends.
Literally: '(We) leave in holiday with the friends'.

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Yesterday I booked a cheap weekend in Madrid (never been, love Spain, very excited!) folllowed by a week in Ibiza on the way back (as you do).

And the here and now was conveniently shaken off for a bit.

Partiamo per la Spagna in luglio.
We are leaving for Spain in July.
Literally: '(We) leave for the Spain in July'.

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In English you have 'We leave' and 'We are leaving'. The latter is used in English when you are in the process of doing something (in which case Italian has a matching construction 'Stiamo partendo'), or to express a planned intention like here – but that is translated in Italian with the simple present tense 'We leave'.

When Italians claim to you that their language is pronounced as it's written, feel free to reply 'Palle' (bollocks). Mostly yes, but there are exceptions. Fortunately, the exceptions follow rules, and you'll find a few in today's phrases:

• GL always fuses into a single sound a bit similar to the Y in Yesterday. Never pronounced GL as in GLad.
• Similarly, GN is a single sound, hard to describe, possibly absent in English, similar to the Spanish Ñ in piÑata. Never as the GN in iGNite.
• Oh, and C and G can have two sounds each (compare 'vaCanza' and 'amiCi' in the first Italian phrase above), but that's for another day.

To acquire by trickery or deception. To defraud or swindle.

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La mia pancia è piena di gas
My belly is full of gas
Literally: 'The my belly is full of gas'.

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I happen to be quite lucky because I love fruit. I dig vegetables too, not in a 'I can't live if I don't have a tomato in my salad NOW' kind of way, but I can definitely tell that my body craves them on a daily basis.

So it's not too much of an effort for me to get my 5-a-day. In fact, most days I'm getting at least eight: five piece of fruit as a snack in between meals, a pack of cherry tomatoes with my lunch and a mixed salad and/or cooked vegetables with my dinner.

Which leads me to today's phrase, originating in the fact that yesterday I was hissing like a Slitheen all day. I was going to go for a run in the evening but I felt sorry for anyone who'd be in my way. And that's a pity, because I think the extra propulsion would have helped me break my personal best.

Forse mangio troppa frutta
Maybe/perhaps I eat too much fruit
Literally: 'Maybe/perhaps (I) eat too-much fruit'.

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There is no difference between 'too much' and 'too many' in Italian: you always use 'tropp-', followed by an ending that matches the word it refers to (i.e. one or many, masculine or feminine):

• too much time = troppo tempo (singular, masculine)
• too much fruit = troppa frutta (singular, feminine)
• too many days = troppi giorni (plural, masculine)
• too many shoes = troppe scarpe (plural, feminine)

Likewise, there is no difference between 'maybe' and 'perhaps', they are both translated with 'forse'. Actually, I'm not even sure there is a difference of meaning in English between 'maybe' and 'perhaps'. And there is an extra expression in Italian: 'Può essere', which means 'It may be', but it is not used as frequently as 'forse'.

To cry or screech like a cat in heat. To make a shrill, discordant sound. To have a noisy argument.

Read more about caterwaul at Answers.com

We had to replace our beard trimmer because I dropped it and even after getting a replacement head it does not work properly. As in, it pulls your facial hair instead of trimming it, and often stops half-way through.

I did a little research online and it turns out that the one we have (a Philips QT4045 Turbo Vac Beard Trimmer) was not awarded particularly enthusiastic reviews because the rechargeable battery cannot be replaced, and it does not last forever.

So last night, after coming back with a new trimmer (the same again, there was not much choice in the shop), Dr B. took the old one apart and look what he found inside:

They look like two ordinary rechargeable AA batteries to me. But if they were replaceable the company would be out of business. Instead we are dumping another bit of plastic and metal and nickel-cadmium somewhere we'd rather not think about.

Civilisation as we know it is going to disappear under a mountain of discarded appliances.

Oggi non so cosa dire
Today I don't know what to say
Literally: 'Today not (I) know what to-say'.

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I do not feel very inspired today. It is only Tuesday morning and already I feel like I've been stuck in a routine for months. And I am in a bit in a rush to go to work, so I'll only teach you a couple of quick and easy phrases today, because

Ho fretta
I am in a hurry
Literally: '(I) have hurry'.

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Many English expressions that are rendered with 'I am' turn into 'I have' in Italian, a language in which you can have sleep (be sleepy), have hunger, have thirst, have hurry, have need…

The letter 'h' is always silent in Italian. It can be used in foreign words, or sometimes (like here in 'ho') it is a historical reference to the ancient Latin form of the word. Which I'm afraid complicates things a bit, because 'to have' = 'avere' but 'I have' = 'ho'. I never said this was going to be easy.

I am not sure if I've already told you this, but turning a sentence into its negative form is very easy: just stick a 'non' before the verb (action). It works for all persons (I, you, she, they…) and for all tenses (present, future, past).

Related to the matter at hand. Pertinent. To the point.

Read more about germane at Answers.com

Iniziamo un'altra settimana
Let's begin another week
Literally: '(We) begin an other week'

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And so another week begins.

Christmas is already a distant memory, although the last item (Isaac Asimov's The Gods Themselves) was finally delivered by Santa's slow reindeer this week).

Work these days is meh. I make an extra special effort to stay motivated but it's hard when I know that in two weeks' time I have to hand over my current position to a new recruit.

And for some unknown reason I am only sleeping four to five hours per night, which makes it impossible to go to the gym afterwards.

It's Monday alright, and

Sono già stufo
I'm already fed up
Literally: '(I) am already fed up'

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The English construction 'Let's + verb' is very simply translated in Italian by '(We) verb'. Let's eat = Mangiamo. Let's begin = Iniziamo.

'Another' in Italian is two separate words, 'a, an' and 'other'. The 'a, an' bit in the phrase above should be 'una' (a, an when the word it refers to is feminine – well apparently 'week' is a lady). But the following word starts with a letter 'a', so the first one is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe.

Here are the websites I bookmarked into my del.icio.us account over the past seven days:

• Slamdot | easy web hosting and domain registration
  Slamdot takes the pain out of web hosting. You can manage your website, domain registration, billing details, and get support — all from the same place. Smallest plan is 11USD/month but it gives plenty of storage, bandwidth, databases and accounts.
• Cellity | free text messages and Twitter
  Low-cost international and conference calls from your mobile, and free text messages and Twitter (best if you have an unlimited data plan)
• Layout Grid Bookmarklet | overlay a grid on any websit with one click
  Photoshop style Layout Grid Bookmarklet to overlay a grid on any website for design purposes. Also link to a related show/hide layout grid bookmarklet.
• FitDay | Free online weight loss and diet journal
  Get your free online diet journal and start tracking your foods, exercises, weight loss, and goals. View your Calories, Nutrition, Weight Loss and more.
• RealJock | online gay fitness community
  'Gay sports and gay fitness for gay jocks, athletes, and fitness buffs.' Good workout plans. And the eye candy's not too bad either.
• Performancing WordPress Themes | free and ultra-high quality
  'Performancing WordPress Themes are free, ultra-high quality WordPress themes for your blog.' Great if you can't/won't design or code and want a ready-made solution at the touch of a button.
• Float clearing | div clear or br clear all?
  A rule (clearit) to replace the deprecated 'clear' attribute.
• Simple, accessible "more" links | use CSS to hide the full description
  CSS can be used to hide the full description of the link (from CSS-supporting browsers) while allowing older devices and screen readers to receive the entire content.
• How-to style WordPress author comments
  simple tutorial on how-to style author comments under WordPress without the need for extraneous plugins. What we’re going to do is instruct WordPress to identify specific author emails and assign a unique class name to each.
• Coin Flip | application to flip a virtual coin on an iPhone
  Coin flipping application for iPhone. Marvellous. And of course absolutely superfluous (although true, these days I often leave all my change at home and only use cards).
• How do I design web pages for the iPhone? | CSS rules for smaller resolutions
  Because the iPhone looks at the "screen" media type, just like your desktop browser does, you need to specify that a set of CSS rules apply only when the screen is smaller than a certain resolution.
• Opera Mini 4 Released | The Death Of The Handheld Style Sheet
  As more and more mobile browsers ignore media=handheld, the future lies in media queries and CSS3.
• Handheld media type test | page to point your browser at
  Point your browser to this page, and it will tell you if your mobile device applies any of the links to 'media=handheld'.
• How to reduce file sizes in Word documents
  A few tips and tricks to reduce file size in Word documents considerably, especially if they contain many images.
• Favicon generator
  Free online favicon generator
• LibraryThing | Catalog your books online
  Enter what you're reading or your whole library—it's an easy, library-quality catalog. LibraryThing also connects you with people who read the same things.
• ShowYourself Widget | Combine your profiles into one
  ShowYourself is a simple to make, easy, free and fun utility to help establish your identity across the web. [...] Combine all your profiles on the web into one attractive widget that you can put on your blog, your myspace or anywhere on the web.
• Microsoft Outlook Keyboard Shortcuts
  Full list of keyboard shortcuts for Outlook power users

A pear-shaped goblet with a narrow top, used especially in serving brandy. Slang. A small portion of liquor.

Read more about snifter at Answers.com

Oggi sono un po' in ritardo
Today I am a bit late
Literally: 'Today (I) am a little in lateness'

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Dr B. was disappointed not to find a new Italian phrase upon waking up. Well, it's Sunday for me too.

Domani sarò puntuale
Tomorrow I will be on time
Literally: 'Tomorrow (I) will-be punctual'

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'A little' is translated with 'un poco' but more often than not it is shortened to un po' (the apostrophe shows that something has been dropped).

'Poco' only translates 'little' in expressions like the one here (a little late, a little patience, a little bread, a little time…). In other phrases, when the word 'little' in English can be replaced by small (a little house, a little man, a little car…), you must use 'piccolo' instead of 'poco'. Piccolo is used to describe the size, poco is used with quantities.

Unlike English, the future in Italian is not expressed with an auxiliary (='helper') verb (I will + verb). Instead, the ending of the verb changes to indicate a future form. Sarò = I will be. Just like the present tense (sono), the 'I' is almost always dropped because the ending (-ò) already shows who performs the action.

A week ago I installed Jiglu (automatic website tagging) and wrote about it.

It has been fantastic to see how thorough can a free auto-tagging plugin prove to be, and I am definitely interested in the functionality that highlights words on a page and overlays upon request a list of other instances of those words throughout the site, with excerpts and links to individual posts.

I have however decided to deactivate Jiglu, mainly for the following two reasons:

1. I find that it slows down considerably the time pages are served, and
2. I wish there was a quick and easy way to monitor and control the words that are linked together when indexed.

I was very impressed by the fact that Jiglu can go as far as grouping terms into categories – and mildly amused that it thought 'Mia Cintura Nera' was a person (it means 'My Black Belt' in Italian).

Making sense of the ocean of data that pervades our lives will require more and more sophisticated algorithms, but for the time being some degree of manual human moderation is still necessary.

To satisfy (a craving); quench. To lessen the force or activity of; moderate. To cool or refresh by wetting or moistening.

Read more about slake at Answers.com

Just back from seeing the Cirque du Soleil's Varekai at the Royal Albert Hall. And I feel really rotten.

I did enjoy the show, a lot actually. Their mix of acrobatics, dance and storytelling is perfectly captivating.

And yet, and yet… I had so many expectations (I'd never seen one of their shows), so many people had spoken wonders of them, that I was just a little bit underwhelmed. And I know I shouldn't.

Two of the friends we went to see it with had seen some of the Cirque's previous shows, and felt the same way as I did.

How can you be disappointed when there are three dozen artists pouring their heart out to you during two hours and risking their health doing dangerous stunts for your amusement?

So yes, I did feel a bit bad, and made sure I clapped much louder than I felt like, to show my appreciation. The day I perform triple somersault and land on a handstand on somebody's shoulders, that's when I'll feel that I can be disappointed.

I mean, I can hardly touch my toes.