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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: Calzare a pennello

This Italian phrase could be just right for you.

Italian expression of the day: Calzare a pennello
Annie Spratt/Unsplash/Nicolas Raymond

Few things in life give as much satisfaction as seeing that an item of clothing you’ve had your eye on fits perfectly the moment you try it on. Such moments are even more joyful when you’ve been overindulging in Italian food and are not exactly in the best shape of your life.

While the English language does offer some expressions suited to describing such moments – ’to fit like a glove’ is probably the most commonly used one – none have the same degree of style and sophistication as the Italian ‘calzare a pennello’.

From a grammatical standpoint, today’s expression is a fairly uncomplicated one: it’s made up of ‘calzare’, an intransitive verb used to say something wraps snugly around one’s body, and ‘a pennello’, an adverbial phrase meaning ‘painted by brush’.

So, as a whole, the idiom describes clothing items that fit their wearer so well that they look as though they’ve been painted onto their body.

For example:

– Come mi stanno questi jeans?

– Ti calzano a pennello. Stai veramente bene così.

– How do these jeans look on me?

– They fit you perfectly. You look really good.

– Che bello! Questa giacca mi calza a pennello!

– How beautiful! This jacket fits me perfectly. 

As you can see, the verb ‘calzare’ must be conjugated in accordance with the item doing the ‘fitting’, so to speak. So a shirt calza a pennello (third-person singular), whereas some trousers calzano a pennello (third-person plural).

The person wearing the clothing is usually referred to via objective personal pronouns (mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi) or, much less frequently, by name preceded by ‘a’, as in:

– A Marco questo smoking sta a pennello.

– This tux fits Marco like a glove.

Though it originated as a way to describe well-fitting clothes or accessories, over time, the expression has naturally expanded its scope to other areas of life, so much so that it is now generally employed to refer to anything that suits someone particularly well. For instance:

– Il mio soprannome e’ Rossi. 

– Beh, ti calza a pennello visto che sei rosso di capelli.

– My surname is Rossi.

– Well, it sure suits you given that you’re red-headed.

There are a few variations on this phrase. Some native speakers may choose to use the verbs ‘andare’ (literally, ‘to go’) or ‘stare’ (literally, ‘to stay’) instead of ‘calzare’. In such cases, the meaning of the idiom does not change. 

– Queste scarpe ti stanno a pennello!

– These shoes fit you perfectly. 

And it’s worth knowing that a commonly-used Italian adjective, ‘calzante’, derives from ‘calzare’. Much like the expression ‘calzare a pennello’, it can be used to describe clothes that are particularly well-fitting, or to refer to any situation or event that is especially well suited to someone. 

– Il premier ha fatto un discorso calzante oggi.

– The prime minister made a fitting speech today.

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For members

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.

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