The latest goes back the fable of “the donkey and the lion” in which the donkey kicks the lion who is already dying to avenge an old offence. Or “calcio d’asino” – donkey’s kick – which is a vile act of who “kicks” or insults an important and powerful person, who they always worshipped, only when they are in a position of weakness or when they have already lost their importance and power. Some expressions are mostly cultural: “fare come l’asino del pentolaio” – to be like the pan seller – which means to stop very frequently, because the pan seller’s donkey had to stop at every door of each house. But a donkey is also someone ungrateful, in this case you can say “a far bene agli asini si ricevono calci” – when you do some good to a donkey you only receive kicks.Īnd the most concrete and practical is maybe “gli asini davanti, i cavalli dietro” – donkeys in the front, horses in the back - which is a piece of advice for farmers and refers to the fact that donkeys never want to go ahead, forwards when used to transport something while horses kick a lot, therefore it’s better to avoid being behind them. A “ponte dell’asino” – the donkey’s bridge – is an expression used when explaining something to someone who is not an expert in a subject that is quite abstract that refers to the use of more average terms.īut then, “asino” can also mean someone very stubborn or a little rude, then we have “pare un asino calzato e vestito” – they look like a dressed and shoed donkey – use to refer to someone rude, ignorant, but also someone who uses insulting titles “raglio d’asino non giunse mai il cielo” – the bray of a donkey never reached the sky – that means that the slander and the curses of an ignorant or evil person have no real effects. Fair enough, don’t you think?! And also, “far credere che gli asini volino” – to have someone believe that donkeys fly – different animal from the English expression, but same meaning. Then, we have a wide range of expressions coming from this secondary meaning of the words “asino.” For example, “meglio un asino che un dottore morto,” literally it’s better to have a donkey alive than a dead doctor, which is supposed to mean something like this: don’t study yourself to death! We prefer you alive and a little ignorant than dead. “L’asino non conosce la coda se non quando non l’ha più” – a donkey doesn’t know it has a tail until t doesn’t have it anymore – always referring to its ignorance. Yup, the old methods! I bet you aren’t nostalgic at all. If you said something very wrong or completely ridiculous at school, back in the old days, the teacher would put “orecchie d’asino” – donkey’s ears – on your head, by definition, the symbol of ignorance, and have you sit in the back corner of the room. Those two words do mean donkey but as in English they also have a secondary meaning that is “to be ignorant, stupid”. To begin with, “asino” or “somaro” – donkey in English – are both very common words in Italian that can be used pretty much interchangeably. Wait, what does that mean? Well, my friend that’s what explaining to you today.Īpparently, donkeys are a very popular animal when talking about Italian expressions: some metaphorically, others more concretely. But “è qui che casca l’asino!” - the donkey falls here. Ay, Jing-a-di-jing hee haw hee haw: it's Dominick the Donkey! What does Dominik the Donkey have to do with the Italian language? Nothing you would say.
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