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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Teppista’

Don't let this mischievous word catch you out.

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

The word teppista (hear the pronunciation here) can be found in abundance in the crime news pages of most Italian newspapers as well as in TV programmes or radio shows.

But the word can also be heard in far more informal contexts, especially those involving irate parents and rogue children.

So, what does teppista mean and where does it come from?

Though it can be translated into English as ‘thug’, teppista doesn’t fully match the meaning of its English counterpart.

In fact, while a thug is usually assumed to be someone who commits serious acts of violence or crimes, a teppista is a small-time teenage criminal engaging in petty acts of vandalism and street theft.

So you won’t hear an Italian native speaker use the term teppista for someone who’s committed offences as serious as assault, armed robbery or murder.

Here’s a couple of examples:

Ieri notte, la fermata del bus vicino a casa mia è stata completamente distrutta.
Ah, i soliti teppisti di strada.

The bus stop near my house was completely knocked down last night.
Ah, it’s the usual street thugs.

Un gruppo di teppisti sta lanciando uova contro le finestre della scuola di paese.
Che vergogna. Dovrebbero essere fermati.

A group of thugs is throwing eggs at the windows of our local school.
That’s a disgrace. They really ought to be stopped. 

The term teppista can also be used in a deliberately exaggerated way to refer to naughty kids or teenagers that generally refuse to do what they’re told – just ask any Italian mother.

In this case, the most accurate English translation would be ‘rascal’ or ‘imp’.

Non puoi andare in giro e tirare calci alla gente! Sei proprio un teppista senza ritegno.
You can’t run around and kick people! You really are a cheeky rascal.

Now that you roughly know what teppista means and how it’s used, you might be interested in knowing where it comes from.

The term comes from teppa, which means ‘moss’ in Milan’s local dialect. 

Teppa only became associated with acts of vandalism and petty crimes in the early 1800s, when a group of local young criminals chose the mossy area surrounding Milan’s Castello Sforzesco as their favourite hangout.

Though the street gang, commonly known as Compagnia della Teppa (Moss Company) was disbanded by local police authorities in 1821, the term teppisti, which was originally used locally to refer to the gang members, has since been used to refer to any small-time offender and, in some cases, to mischievous kids.

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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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