Help! Can anyone explain what this expression means? I've heard it used in various situations, but when I've asked nobody seems to be able to put their finger on a succinct explanation. I don't want a repeat of my 3-month 'ci voleva' angst- please someone put me out of my misery!

http://sourgrapesinitaly.blogspot.com/

Hi Frankie,
ci mancherebbe is a very versatile idiom; depending on the context it could mean "don't sweat it" "you're welcome" (as "Thank you" - "You're welcome"), but also "not at all" and other things as well.
If you give me a whole sentence I could be more accurate.

The only example I can think of now would be in a bar-type setting when a customer asks if they can take some napkins or something and the barista says something like 'Come no? Ci mancherebbe'. I suppose in this case it would be the 'you're welcome' use (kind of like a 'prego'?)

Annoyingly I can't think of any other ways I've heard it used right now, but I know there are plenty!

http://sourgrapesinitaly.blogspot.com

"Ci mancherebbe" is a sort of abbreviated form of "ci mancherebbe solo che dicessi di no!", something roughly translated as "it'd be the most astonishing thing on the planet if I said no!".

"Mancarci", in this sense, emphazises the one thing that's missing as a totally astonishing one. Like "ci manca solo questa!" translates "after all we've seen, if this happened too it'd be astonishing".

Or thereabout.

Hope this helps.

'Dispiace se....?'
'Do you mind if....?'

'Ci mancherebbe altro...'
'But of course not - why would I!'

"Come no?" would work there as well.

Ok, got it thanks. Now I can start ci mancherebbe-ing left right and centre!

Just one other one for you idiom busters- I am mighty confused by 'per carita!'. Is it's use positive or negative? How strong an exclamation is it?

http://sourgrapesinitaly.blogspot.com

My neighbours use it in a negative context - "God forbid!" that something (terrible) should happen, etc.

quote:

"Mancarci", in this sense, emphazises the one thing that's missing as a totally astonishing one. Like "ci manca solo questa!" translates "after all we've seen, if this happened too it'd be astonishing".

Is this like "it never rains but it pours" - something we Irish say when everything bad happens together?

I may very well be mistaken, but I thought "Ci mancherebbe" was roughly equivalent to "It's the least we/I could do" (i.e. it would be appalling of us not to do it), and "ci manca(va) solo questa !" was the same as an ironic "That's all we needed !" (i.e. the one thing that was missing in this farce).

quote:

but I thought "Ci mancherebbe" was roughly equivalent to "It's the least we/I could do" (i.e. it would be appalling of us not to do it)

Exactly so, as I said a little further up.

I've heard it used as a way to say "obviously." It was something along the lines of "Oh, he's a really nice person." and the person responded with a "ci mancherebbe", as if to say, "DUH! Of course he is."



Am I mistaken?

I've mostly heard it as "ci mancherebbe altro", indicating perhaps the expression being talked about is in fact an ellipsis. Whatever, I've always understood it to mean "it's to be expected (of me)" or, more colloquially, "no big deal".