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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Totoministri’

Open any Italian newspaper today and you're likely to spot this word among the headlines. But what does it mean?

Italian word of the day: 'Totoministri'
Photo: DepositPhotos

It doesn’t have anything to do with Italian comic treasure Totò – more’s the pity – but it often has elements of farce.

You’ll hear the toto~ prefix whipped out whenever speculation is rife: it comes from gambling, specifically the football pools.

Named Totalizzatore calcistico (‘Football Totalizator’) or Totocalcio for short, it’s a sort of sweep that allows players to bet on the results of several upcoming matches in exchange for a small fixed fee.


Totocalcio signs outside a newsagent’s shop in Italy. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Journalists adopted the term as a catch-all phrase for making more or less informed guesses about an uncertain outcome, especially in politics and especially when you’re talking about multiple outcomes at once.

That’s why toto~ crops up in newspaper-speak in neologisms such as totonomine (‘nomination sweep’), totopoltrone (‘parliamentary seat sweep’) or totocolle (literally ‘hill sweep’, using another piece of journalistic shorthand for the official residence of the president, which is located on Rome’s Quirinal Hill – thus the term means ‘president sweep’).

This week, though, there’s already a lot of speculation about the totoministri: or ‘minister sweep’ – who’ll make the cabinet in Italy’s new government, which may not be formed for weeks yet.

“Totoministri, the squad for Meloni’s government”. Headline on Corriere della Sera from September 27, 2022.

You’re unlikely to hear the term used in conversation, but it will definitely come in handy for making sense of Italian headlines between now and then.

Making sense of Italy’s infamously tumultuous politics, on the other hand… we’re working on it.

You can find all The Local’s latest political news reports here.

Do you have a favourite Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.

An earlier version of this article was originally published in 2019.

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For members

ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Cambiare registro’

Here's the Italian phrase you'll need if you're looking for a change.

Italian expression of the day: ‘Cambiare registro’

If you live in Italy or have spent a considerable amount of time in the country, you may have overheard an Italian parent telling their child they needed to cambiare registro right after they threw a tantrum. 

If you work or have worked in Italy, you may also have had one of your superiors tell you that a cambio di registro was needed in the office. 

But what do Italians really mean when they tell someone they need to ‘change register’?

Italians use cambiare registro to tell someone that they need to change their behaviour, manners or way to approach a particular task (including work or school assignments), usually because they’re not particularly happy with the way they’re currently handling things. 

It is generally used with the verb dovere (must/have to), which must be conjugated according to the person who could do with a ‘change of register’. For instance:

Non hai passato gli ultimi tre test. Devi cambiare registro se vuoi tenere la tua paghetta settimanale.  

You failed the past three exams. You need to turn things around if you want to keep your weekly allowance.

La tua performance al lavoro e’ stata insoddisfacente questo trimestre. Devi veramente cambiare registro il prossimo mese.

Your performance at work has been unsatisfactory this quarter. You really need to turn things around next month.

You could also say that a situation you’re unhappy with needs ‘a change of register’, without addressing anyone in particular. 

Ci sono cose ovunque. C’e’ bisogno di un cambio di registro in questa casa.

There’s stuff all over the place. Changes are needed in this house.

As you can see from these examples, there’s no single way to translate the phrase into English, though ‘turning things around’ and ‘changing up’ are popular translations.

And if you’re wondering where the expression comes from, it has nothing to do with Italy’s Registry Office (or Anagrafe), nor with any other part of the country’s public administration. 

Cambiare registro was originally a music-related expression as it referred to the act of changing the tone or range (registro in Italian) of some musical instruments, including pipe organs.

But, as in the case of many other Italian phrases and expressions, its usage was later extended to daily life situations to express a need for major changes.

Do you have a favourite Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.

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