31
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Accepted
Is there an English equivalent of the Italian idiom "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!"?
Not in the same league is very common:
Joe: LaTeX is like Word.
Carla: They are not even in the same league!
Not in the same league means
Not at the same level or quality as someone or something, ...
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27
votes
Word for "temporarily fix an issue with makeshift equipment waiting for a permanent solution" (Italian: tamponare)
Jury-rig for a verb; kludge for a noun or verb
Jury-rig (v.)
To erect, construct, or arrange in a makeshift fashion. M-W
To assemble quickly or from whatever is at hand, especially for
temporary use:...
- 24.1k
21
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Is there an English equivalent of the Italian idiom "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!"?
There is a negative way of expressing this, by negating an expression normally used to group items as similar or roughly equivalent in some way.
For example:
"These are not cut from the same cloth"....
- 1,040
19
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Word for "temporarily fix an issue with makeshift equipment waiting for a permanent solution" (Italian: tamponare)
take a stopgap measure
A stopgap is something that serves a purpose for a short time, but is replaced as soon as possible
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Is there an English equivalent of the Italian idiom "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!"?
We might use "that's like comparing chalk and cheese".
It's slightly different (I think) in that gold is more valuable than tin, so the Italian version definitely implies a hierarchy.
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Word for "temporarily fix an issue with makeshift equipment waiting for a permanent solution" (Italian: tamponare)
Bodge.
Army term often used to describe a quick fix on a piece or repair of equipment
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8
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A single word for turning something Italian?
You are correct: the verb italicize is limited to printing in italics. (Curiously, non-italic typeface is referred to as Roman). Cursive, while also slanted, is characterized by connected letters.
The ...
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8
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Is there an English equivalent of the Italian idiom "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!"?
You could say that the two things are not even on the same level
When two things are on a level:
on a level with
Equal with.
‘they were treated as menials, on a level with cooks’
So when the two are ...
- 4,979
8
votes
What is the word for the gesture when someone takes three fingers and kisses it into the air?
In English, the word used is ‘chef’s kiss’.
From Dictionary.com:
Chef's kiss is a gesture and expression meant to show something is perfect or excellent. The gesture is made by pinching the fingers ...
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Is there an English equivalent of the Italian idiom "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!"?
You don't know shit from shinola is an American saying with a similar, although derogatory, meaning.
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Accepted
What rules govern uniform mispronounciation of romance languages?
This answer can't be as complete as I'd like it to be, because the "why" part of your question is fairly difficult and I don't know the answer. But here's some relevant information.
Peculiarities of ...
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7
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Is there an English equivalent of the Italian idiom "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!"?
If one thing is greatly inferior to another, you can say it doesn't hold a candle to it. Alternatively, "can't hold a candle to it."
For example http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170303-whats-the-...
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Is there an English equivalent of the Italian idiom "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!"?
Hmm... I suppose that the following are as close as I can think of:
You're not comparing like with like
Option A pales in comparison with Option B
You're comparing apples with oranges
I don't ...
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7
votes
How did English pepperoni come to mean something entirely different from Italian peperoni?
The earliest attestation in the OED comes from 1888, in the Times (of London):
There were peperoni, sometimes called diavolini, and poponi.
It is widely believed that the product is "purely an ...
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7
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Word for "temporarily fix an issue with makeshift equipment waiting for a permanent solution" (Italian: tamponare)
In computing, the words hack (Merriam Webster — noun 6) or kludge are often used. Patch (as a verb) is a more general term, although generally means a permanent fix in computing (thank you @BoldBen).
(...
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6
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Word for "temporarily fix an issue with makeshift equipment waiting for a permanent solution" (Italian: tamponare)
Mechanic here - you "duct tape it". Nobody expects that you will actually use duct tape. It's just a metaphor. A somewhat dated phrase is a bailing wire fix, but it doesn't verb as well. ...
- 17k
6
votes
Accepted
How to translate "rapporto bancario"?
I would say that, yes, "banking relationship" is the correct term, for financial institutions that accept deposits and make loans -- banks in the traditional sense of the word. During the five years I ...
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5
votes
Accepted
What made “gusto” popular?
Was Gusto Popular?
The NGram data on gusto is borne out by both the Corpus of Historical American English and the Hansard (British parliamentary) Corpus. For instance, here is the results for gusto ...
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Word for "temporarily fix an issue with makeshift equipment waiting for a permanent solution" (Italian: tamponare)
The verb tamponare is used in Italian for temporarily repairing a leak but it can also be used, metaphorically, in a situation of emergency.
We plugged the leak using rags…
In the meantime we need ...
- 93k
4
votes
The “prickmouse” and the “butcher's broom”
An important point relevant to this question is that the earliest meaning of the word "broom" in English, dating to c1000, referred to a particular species of flower. It appears that "broom" as a ...
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3
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Is there a good equivalent for the Italian proverb "Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco"?
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade is a proverbial phrase used to encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face
of adversity or ...
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3
votes
Possible Italian origin for English expressions "easy peasy" and/or "easy breezy"?
It is a case of rhyming reduplication whose earliest usage dates back to the ‘40s. The assonance with a regional Italian dish appears to be casual:
Easy Peasy:
One of the earliest documented ...
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3
votes
Are there any "fake" Italian words used in English?
A very nice fake Italianism is in use especially I think in Southern California, where I write from. It's dated, I think, no longer as common as a decade ago. But it's to say that you and someone else ...
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What's the English equivalent of the Italian 'sputare nel piatto dove si mangia'?
Wolfgang Mieder, A Dictionary of American Proverbs (1992) offers the following entry for "It's an ill bird that fowls [sic] its own nest":
It's an ill bird that fowls its own nest. Var[...
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What is the word for the gesture when someone takes three fingers and kisses it into the air?
If you call it "finger kiss" or "italian finger kiss" just about everyone will know what you're referring to.
If you want to be correct though, it's "al bacio".
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Is there an English equivalent of the Italian idiom "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!"?
It's not an idiom, but you could also say the inferior thing is not worthy of the comparison.
- 981
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votes
Accepted
Why is semibreve commonly pronounced as ˈsɛm iˌbriv?
This is a regular pronunciation of the letter "E" in Present-Day English
Pronouncing words spelled with the letter "e" with the sound /i/ (the sound in the word fleece, also ...
- 84.5k
2
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Is there a good equivalent for the Italian proverb "Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco"?
How about "that's the way the cookie crumbles"? It keeps the food connection and the cookies are still good to eat even though they are in inconvenient crumbs.
In non food related phrases, ...
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Is there a good equivalent for the Italian proverb "Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco"?
My impression is the there is probably no English proverb that conveys the exact meaning and spirit of the Italian one:
Collins suggests:
things can’t be expected to turn out right every time.
...
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