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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Inchiodare’

You'll nail this word in no time.

Italian word of the day: 'Inchiodare'
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

What do a carpenter, a detective, and a bank robber screeching to a halt in their getaway car all have in common?

In English, not much – but in Italian, they could all be said to inchiodare in the course of their professional activities.

In its simplest form, inchiodare (pronunciation here) simply means ‘to nail’ (un chiodo is a nail) – a picture to a wall, or a leg to a table.

Ha trovato questo cartello inchiodato alla sua porta.
She found this notice nailed to her door.

But like ‘to nail’, inchiodare has more than one meaning.

You can use it to describe someone or something being ‘pinned’ in place, without actually having been literally nailed there.

Mi ha inchiodato al muro.
He pinned me to the wall.

La mia gamba è inchiodata al terreno.
My leg is pinned to the ground.

You can be metaphorically inchiodato to a place in the sense of being stuck there, tied down, or trapped.

Dovrei essere in vacanza e invece sono inchiodata alla mia scrivenia.
I should be on holiday and instead I’m stuck at my desk.

Don'T Forger You'Re Here Forever GIF - The Simpsons Mr Burns Youre Here GIFs

Siamo inchiodati a questa scuola per altri tre anni.
We’re stuck at this school for another three years.

Sono stati inchiodati dal fuoco di armi.
They were trapped by gunfire.

Just like in English, you can inchiodare (‘nail’) someone in the sense of proving their guilt.

Chiunque sia stato, ha lasciato tracce di DNA che lo inchioderanno.
Whoever it was, they left traces of DNA that will take them down.

Senza la pistola non lo inchioderemo, perché non abbiamo altre prove.
Without the gun we’re not going to get him, because we have no other proof.

For reasons that are less clear, the word can also mean to slam on the brakes in a car.

Ha inchiodato e ha afferrato la pistola quando ha visto la volante bloccando la strada.
He slammed on the brakes and grabbed the gun when he saw the police car blocking the road.

Hanno inchiodato la macchina a pochi passi da noi.
They screeched to a halt in the car just a few feet away from us.

Those last two definitions mean that you’re very likely to encounter the word when watching mystery shows or listening to true crime podcasts. Look out for it the next time you watch a detective drama.

Do you have an 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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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Meno male’

Thank goodness for this phrase.

Italian expression of the day: 'Meno male'
Photo: DepositPhotos

Feel like the studying’s paid off and you’re finally getting all this Italian vocab to stick? 

Meno male, we might tell you: ‘just as well’. Click here to hear it pronounced.

This common expression (literally: ‘less bad’) is a way to welcome a piece of information, while implying that the alternative would be a whole lot worse.

You can translate it as anything from ‘just as well’ to ‘fortunately’ to ‘thank goodness’.

Sei tornato! Meno male!
You’re back! Thank goodness!

You can say it on its own, like in the example above, or specify what you’re thankful for by adding che.

Meno male che stai bene.
It’s a good job you’re ok.

It expresses gladness, gratitude, but most of all, relief. That’s why you might hear people use with a big sigh and a wipe of the forehead, like we would say: ‘phew!’

The prize for the most notorious (and cringeworthy) usage of this phrase in Italy goes to the song Meno male che Silvio c’e (‘Thank goodness for Silvio’) by Andrea Vantini, used in late politician Silvio Berlusconi’s campaigning with his former party Popolo della Libertà.

Finally, note the spelling: while you might see it written as one word by some, in fact it’s most definitely two.

Meno male we checked the dictionary, eh?

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

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