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LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Italian word of the day: ‘Rocambolesco’

What adventures will this word lead you into?

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

As well as requests from language learners looking for guidance, we occasionally get emails from native speakers keen to share some of their favourite Italian words with an international audience.

One such suggestion gives us today's word: rocambolesco, meaning 'fantastic', 'extraordinary', 'daring' or 'improbable'.

In fact it's several words for the price of one, since you can also say it in English and French, which is where it comes from in the first place: Rocambole was the dashing protagonist of a series of adventure stories written by the French author Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail in the mid 19th century.

The character proved so popular around Europe that he was still popping up in spin-offs by other writers as recently as 2005. His exploits inspired multiple films, a TV series and not least, the adjective rocambolesque, which in several European languages has come to refer to any far-fetched turn of events – often escapes, heists and the like.

Un cane ha eseguito una fuga rocambolesca da uno studio veterinario.
A dog made an unlikely escape from the vet's office.

'Rocambolesco soccorso alle Cinque Terre: il mare mosso blocca ogni via di fuga ad un turista 45enne'
'Daring rescue in the Cinque Terre: rough sea blocks all ways out for 45-year-old tourist' – headline from a local paper in Liguria.

Italian also has the adverb rocambolescamente – 'in a rocambolesque fashion' – to describe the act of behaving in a such a way.

Un gruppo di ladri sono evasi rocambolescamente da un carcere speciale.
A group of thieves incredibly escaped from a special prison.

While Ponson du Terrail may have plucked the name Rocambole out of his imagination, it's possible he meant to invoke a type of wild onion known in French as ail rocambole (and in Italian as rocambola), which in turn comes from the German name Rockenbolle. Perhaps the moniker was supposed to invoke the plant's distinctive fiery taste as a preview of Rocambole's spicy adventures.

If Rocambole is a bit too rock'n'roll for you, you can also use the more generic romanzesco: it means 'novelesque' (a novel is un romanzo), i.e. worthy of fiction.

Do you have an Italian word you'd like us to feature? If so, please email our editor Jessica Phelan with your suggestion.

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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Al volo’

We’re sure you’ll learn this Italian phrase in no time.

Italian expression of the day: ‘Al volo’

If you’ve ever found yourself at an Italian airport and looked up at the departure board, there’s a good chance you’re already familiar with the word volo, which is the Italian equivalent of ‘flight’ – but also the first person singular of the verb volare (to fly) in the present tense.

And if you’re a fan of classical music, you may of course have heard of Italy’s famous opera trio Il Volo (‘The Flight’).

But what do Italians mean when they say they’re going to do something al volo (hear it pronounced here)? 

Much like its closest English equivalent, ‘on the fly’, al volo has very little to do with aircraft or flying as it’s one of the most common Italian phrases to say that you’re doing something ‘quickly’ or ‘readily’, often without having prepared it or thought about it much beforehand.

Facciamoci una pasta al volo e poi usciamo.

Let’s cook some pasta on the fly and then get out.

Ho dovuto preparare la presentazione al volo perché non mi avevano avvisato della riunione.

I had to put the presentation together on the fly as I’d not been notified of the meeting. 

But usage of al volo is not limited to practical actions or tasks you may do quickly and without much thought. 

In fact, you can also pair it with the verb capire (understand), comprendere (comprehend) or imparare (learn) to say that you grasped something ‘immediately’ or ‘in no time’, meaning you won’t need any further explanation. 

Tuo figlio capisce tutto al volo. Ha un grande futuro davanti a lui, a mio parere.

Your son understands everything in no time. He’s got a great future ahead of him, in my opinion.

And if you haven’t fully understood or grasped something on your first try (which is painfully likely when dealing with Italy’s infamous red tape, even for locals), don’t worry: you’ll always have the option to ask a domanda al volo, or a ‘quick question’, to clear up your doubts. 

Another popular way to use the phrase is in relation to big opportunities, whether that be in life, in education or at work. So an opportunity that va presa al volo must be seized immediately as it’s too good to be missed. 

Finally, if you’re planning on watching Euro 2024 matches on Italian TV over the next month, you may hear football commentators use al volo multiple times while analysing a match as colpire la palla al volo means to strike it while it’s in the air, or ‘volley’ it.

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: download our app (available on Apple and Android) and then select the Italian Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button.

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