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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Braccine corte’

Sometimes this is just the phrase to reach for.

Italian expression of the day: 'Braccine corte'
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

If an Italian acquaintance tells you your arms are short, they’re not commenting on your physical appearance. And it’s probably a sign that it’s your turn to pay for the coffee. 

Avere le braccine corte or le braccia corte literally means “to have short arms”, and it’s used to say someone’s a bit tight with their money.

Like the English phrase “short arms and deep pockets”, it’s used to describe those people who are seemingly unable to reach their wallets when it’s time to pay for anything.

Va bene, braccine corte, le patatine le offro io.

Okay, tightwad, I’ll pay for the chips.

An alternative explanation you might hear is that the saying comes from an old fabric merchants’ custom of selling lengths of cloth a braccia, or “by the arm” – a unit of measurement used to give an estimate of the price. Those sellers who charged higher prices were said to have short ‘arms’.

And, alternatively, if someone’s a real miser, you could use the adjective tirchio (pronounced TIR-kyoh).

Non pensavo che il mio futuro marito potesse essere così tirchio.

I didn’t know my future husband would be this tight with money

If you want to say the complete opposite, there’s an equally colourful phrase you could use: avere le mani bucate.

If you say someone has “holes in their hands”, it means money tends to slip through them all too easily. 

Ha le mani bucate e non riuscirà mai a risparmiare abbastanza da comprarsi una casa.

She has holes in her hands and will never manage to save up enough to buy a house.

This person is probably a spendaccione (‘spen-da-CHO-neh’) – a “big spender”, or someone who spends their money in a carefree or extravagant way.

Hai già finito i soldi dello stipendio? Sei proprio uno spendaccione!

Have you already spent your salary? You’re a real spendthrift!

For the seriously careless, the harsher description of scialacquatore (shall-akwa-TOH-reh’) might apply, which literally sounds like “water spiller” but means something like “waster” or “squanderer”.

Ha scialacquato tutto quello che aveva.

He squandered everything he had.

We just hope you don’t hear these words used to describe you.

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

Don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

Member comments

  1. Thanks for all these wonderful words you give us. I am making a nice little file of them so I can learn them.

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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.

Don’t miss any of our Italian words and expressions of the day by downloading our new app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

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