by DHales | Jun 3, 2014 | culture, history, Italy, Language, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
z zeta Of all the letters of the alphabet, z (zeta in italiano) may be the most zany–an English word derived from Zanni, a form of Giovanni or Gianni (John) and the name of a classic character in La Commedia dell’Arte (comedy of the “art” or profession of...
by DHales | May 29, 2009 | Italy, Language, Sayings and expressions, Social behavior, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
cafone peasant, bumpkin, hick Every country has its share of jerks, clods and ignorant slobs, but Italian reserves the word “cafone” (pronounced cah-fon-ay) for its home-grown variety. This utterly Italian insult traces its history back to...
