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LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Italian word of the day: ‘Scherzare’

No kidding, this word comes up all the time.

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

It might surprise you to learn that Italians get their word for joking around from… the Germans.

That's right, scherzare ('to joke') comes – via settlers to northern Italy – from an early Germanic word meaning 'to hop, jump or frolic'. 

Today's Italian version (pronounced “sker-tsar-eh”) still has the same sense of playfulness. It's not just telling jokes, it's what we'd call 'playing around' or 'goofing off'.

Si sono messi a scherzare con la neve come dei ragazzi.
They started playing around in the snow like kids.

Of course, saying something was just for fun is a good way to get away with things. It's the equivalent of saying you're 'kidding' or something is just 'a joke' (uno scherzo).

Sto scherzando!
I'm kidding!

Era solo uno scherzo!
It was only a joke!

Jokes come in all different shapes and sizes: uno scherzetto ('little joke') is a harmless 'trick', uno scherzo di mano is a 'practical joke' or 'prank', scherzo rozzo is 'horseplay', and uno scherzo da prete (literally, 'priest's joke') is a 'nasty' or even 'dirty joke', for reasons best left to the imagination. 

But when it's no time for kidding, you can use scherzare to suggest that someone is being too playful and not serious enough – that they're 'messing around'.

Smettila di scherzare con l'acqua!
Stop messing around with the water!

La situazione è seria: c'è poco da scherzare.
This is a serious situation: it's no laughing matter (literally: there's little to joke about). 

By the same token, if you say something 'doesn't mess around', you mean it deserves to be taken seriously – i.e. it's considerable or worthy.

Lei è brava, ma anche tu non scherzi.
She's good, but you're not bad yourself.

Se ieri faceva un freddo cane, oggi certo non scherza.
If yesterday was freezing, today isn't messing around either (in other words: it's very cold too). 

If you're not sure that someone's being serious – or can't believe they are – use scherzare to ask if they're joking. Even just rhetorically.

– Hai deciso di sposarlo?
– Stai scherzando?!

– Have you decided to marry him?
– Are you kidding?!

And if you want to assure someone that no, you're deadly serious, the answer, of course, is… 

Non sto scherzando!
I'm not kidding!

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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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