Italian Body Parts in Common Expressions Quiz

Answer: costare un occhio della testa

'Costare un occhio della testa' in Italian means that an eye is given in exchange for something valuable rather than the English 'arm and a leg'. 'Sognare ad occhi aperti' means 'to daydream' or literally 'to dream with eyes open'. 'Non chiudere occhio' means 'to not sleep a wink' or literally 'to not close one's eyes' and 'a quattr'occhi' means 'privately' or literally 'with four eyes' - in other words, with very few people knowing.

There are many Italian expressions involving the eye or 'l'occhio'.

Answer: aver fegato

'Il fegato' literally is 'the liver' but according to the Italian language, it is also the source of bravery. Another expression involving 'il fegato' is 'mangiarsi il fegato' which although literally means 'to eat one's liver', in practice means 'to kick oneself'.

The idea of courage can also be expressed 'non aver sangue nelle vene' - 'to not have blood in one's veins'. 'Andare in fumo' means 'to go up in smoke' and 'come un fulmine' means to do something 'like lightning' or 'like a shot'.

Answer: a piede libero

'A piede libero' is literally 'with a free foot'. 'Avere un piede nella bara' literally means 'to have one foot in the coffin' but is close to the English 'one foot in the grave'. 'La bara' is commonly replaced with 'la fossa' which is indeed the 'grave' or 'pit'. 'Cadere in piedi' means 'to land on one's feet' and 'un lavoro fatto con i piedi' is literally 'a job done with one's feet' so therefore a poor piece of work.

Answer: guardarsi le spalle

In Italian, one watches one's 'shoulder' - la spalla (singular), le spalle (plural) instead of one's back as in English. 'Vivere alle spalle di qualcuno' means 'to sponge off someone' or literally 'to live off someone's shoulders'. 'Dietro le spalle' means 'behind someone's back' or literally 'shoulders', and lastly, 'alzare le spalle' means 'to shrug the shoulders'.

Answer: prendere con le mani nel sacco

'Prendere con le mani nel sacco' literally means 'caught/taken with one's hands in the bag'. 'Mordersi le mani' is literally 'to bite one's hands' but in practice means 'to kick oneself'; 'rimanere a mani vuote' means 'to be left empty-handed' and 'sotto mano' literally means 'under hand' and therefore means 'sly or sneaky'.

The word 'la mano' (hand) is interesting because although it ends in 'o', it is in fact feminine. The plural is formed by changing the 'o' to an 'i' as per regular grammar but it's important to remember that any subsequent adjectives must follow the feminine endings where applicable e.g le mani vuote.

Answer: for money to burn a hole in one's pockets

Literally this expression refers to the hands themselves having holes and not the pockets! 'To change hands' is 'cambiare di mano', 'to give a hand' is 'dare una mano' and finally 'to have nothing to be ashamed of' is 'avere le mani pulite' or literally 'to have clean hands'.

Answer: to know the score

'Avere buon naso' is literally 'to have a good nose'. 'To be right under one's nose' is expressed 'proprio sotto il naso'. 'Far accapponare la pelle' is 'to make the flesh crawl', and finally, 'to lose one's life' is 'lasciarsi la pelle' or literally 'to lose one's skin'.

Answer: the talk of the town

'Sulla bocca di tutti' is similar to the English expression of being the name 'on everyone's lips', but is intended in a more negative manner. 'La bocca' means 'mouth'. 'All ears' is expressed as 'con le orecchie tese' (with tense ears) and also more literally 'tutt'orecchie'. 'Thick-skinned' is expressed as 'hard skin' in the expression 'avere pelle dura' and finally 'skin and bones' is literally translated 'pelle e ossa'.

Answer: to admit defeat

'Piegare la schiena' is literally 'to bend one's back'. 'La schiena' is the 'back'. 'To go to rack and ruin' is 'andare a rovina', 'to be stark-naked' is 'essere nudo come un verme' or literally 'to be as nude as a worm' and finally 'to try to look big' is 'darsi importanza', or literally 'to give oneself importance'.

Answer: to drink

'Alzare il gomito' literally means 'to raise or lift the elbow'. 'To rub shoulders with' also uses the Italian word for 'elbow' in 'trovarsi gomito a gomito' which is 'to find oneself elbow to elbow'. 'Not to be all there' is 'mancare un venerdi', 'to lack a Friday' and lastly 'to twiddle one's thumbs' is expressed 'grattarsi la pancia', 'to scratch one's belly'. I hope you've enjoyed this quiz! Thanks for playing.