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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Sbaciucchiarsi’

With any luck, you'll be needing this Italian word one today.

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

Here’s a word to get your tongue in a twist, and hopefully someone else’s too: sbaciucchiarsi (pronounced “sba-chiu-kiar-si”).

It means ‘to kiss’, but unlike the simplest way of saying that – baciare – it doesn’t mean just once. There’s a special variation, sbaciucchiare, to describe smothering someone in kisses. And while anyone can do that – for instance an overenthusiastic nonna – the reflexive form, sbaciucchiarsi, denotes that all those kisses are being returned. 

It’s therefore strictly for a romantic context, similar to the terms ‘snog’, ‘smooch’ or ‘make out’ in English.

Due giovani si sbaciucchiavano appassionatamente sotto l’albero.
Two youngsters were making out passionately under the tree.

There’s also a noun in case you want to refer to ‘snogging’: sbaciucchiamento.

Ci sono stati altri sbaciucchiamenti in ufficio?
Was any other snogging going on in the office?

In fact, Italian has a wealth of words to talk about kissing, some romantic and some less so. There’s slinguare – ‘to kiss with tongues’ – and, depending on your preferred technique, limonare (‘to sloppy kiss’ – literally, to kiss like a lemon squeezer) or pomiciare (‘to kiss like you’re grinding a pumice stone’).

Some even claim that what we call ‘French kissing’ was invented by the Italians: baciare alla fiorentina (‘to kiss the Florentine way’), a term dating back to at least the 17th century, means to kiss passionately with tongues. 

However you do it and whoever you’re doing it with, we wish you buon sbaciucchiamento (‘happy smooching’).

READ ALSO: How to talk about love, sex, and dating in Italian

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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Rimorchiare’

Here's an Italian word you'll want to pick up.

Italian word of the day: 'Rimorchiare'

If you’ve ever studied for your foglio rosa (provisional driver’s licence) exam in Italy, you’re sure to have come across the word rimorchio (trailer).

Theory test T/F question: ‘The width of the trailer must never exceed that of the vehicle pulling it.’

Credo che dovremo noleggiare un rimorchio per trasportare tutta la merce.
I think we might need to rent a trailer to transport all the goods.

And rimorchiare, along with the more formal trainare, means to haul or tow.

La barca è stata rimorchiata a riva.
The boat was towed to shore.

But rimorchiare isn’t just used to talk about vehicles. It also means to pick or chat someone up, or hook up with them.

Sono usciti per rimorchiare.
They’ve gone out on the pull.

Se n’è appena andata con un tipo che ha rimorchiato.
She just left with some guy she picked up.

A rimorchiatore is a tugboat, but can also mean a player/persistent flirt, and rimorchione/a also describes someone who’s constantly chatting people up.

got talent nina GIF by Italia's Got Talent

In some parts of the country, meanwhile, you might hear someone described as a provolone – a big tryhard or wannabe player.

That’s a wordplay based on the reflexive verb provarci, meaning ‘to try it on with’, and the famous Italian cheese. 

È un gran provolone ma non riesce mai a rimorchiare.
He’s a real tryhard but he never manages to pull.

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

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