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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘A ramengo’

This is one part of Italy you never want to go.

Italian expression of the day: 'A ramengo'
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

I’d never heard of a ramengo until a reader wrote in to ask what it meant. A quick search revealed two things: 1) Aramengo is a small town in Piedmont, and 2) no one seems to want to go there.

I should clarify that Aramengo looks perfectly charming. But what my Googling turned up was that the phrase andare a ramengo (‘to go to ramengo‘) means ‘to go to ruin’, ‘to fall apart’, ‘to go pear-shaped’.

Questa missione è andata decisamente a ramengo.
This mission has gone decidedly pear-shaped.

Why should poor old Aramengo be associated with rack and ruin?

The most prevalent theory seems to be that back in the days when Piedmont was ruled by Lombard dukes, those convicted of crimes – especially failing to pay back their debts – would be exiled to the far reaches of the realm, which in the Middle Ages lay… right around Aramengo. Thus the town, the story goes, became a synonym for bankruptcy. 

All that could be an urban legend: others say ramengo actually comes from the verb ramingare, ‘to wander’ or ‘to roam’.

Andare ramingo is a somewhat literary way of saying ‘to go roving’ and linguists believe ramengo is simply the Venetian dialect version, a variant that has come to mean, by extension, to go off course or awry, to find yourself an exile or vagabond.

Our reader confirms that her grandparents spoke Venetian, while a Milanese friend of mine tells me the expression is used all over the north.

As well as a description, you can also use the phrase as a command: it’s a kind of curse when you want to wish someone trouble.

Va’ a ramengo e non mi seccare!
Go to hell and stop bothering me!

May you never go to ramengo – but I hear Aramengo’s lovely this time of year.

Lovely Aramengo. Photo: Gianluigi FalettiCC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia

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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.

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