As an expat working in a multinational and multilingual environment, I spend a lot of time marvelling at idioms and expressions, as they define each culture’s view of humanity, the world and life in general. Many an awkward conversation among people of different nationalities stems from attempts at idiom translation. The results range from hilarious to downright embarrassing and the Internet offers plenty of examples of the rudest and juiciest idioms, literally translated into english for your amusement and astonishment. If you are planning on spending time and\u00a0doing business in Italy<\/a><\/strong>, you might find yourself wrestling with the more creative instances of our language and occasionally giving us the honestly puzzled look of someone who has no idea what we are talking about. This is a \u2013 by no means comprehensive \u2013 list of everyday expressions that you are likely to encounter if you practise\u00a0your Italian with native speakers for long enough. It is used instead of Buona Fortuna<\/em> (literally: good luck<\/strong>), which you should never<\/em> use. It may have started out as a theatrical tradition, but it’s now considered to be the appropriate way of wishing someone good luck in just about every situation. There are several theories as to how this expression was born. One attributes it to the courage that is obviously required to put any part of oneself in the mouth of a wolf, thereby making it a wish of bravery and good fortune in overcoming obstacles. This explanation also works best with the customary answer to this expression, which is \u201cCrepi!\u201d (Literally: may [the wolf]\u00a0die!). Another, altogether sweeter explanation has become popular in recent years, referring to the fact that a female wolf will carry her cubs from place to place in her mouth to keep them from harm, thus making the mouth of a\u00a0wolf actually a really safe place to be in (if you are a cub). Whichever tale you chose to credit, just don’t ever say Buona Fortuna. Particularly not on an opening night.
\n<\/p>\n1. In bocca al lupo \u2013 literally: In the wolf’s mouth<\/h3>\n
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