Just found this page that has a list of English slang with the Italian translations.

fun...here's some more from Deirdre': (she says it's "not for polite company")
http://www.beginningwithi.com/italy/living/itslang.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/cool/ this BBC site has downloadable mp3 slang in Italian!! It also tells you when to use it and when not to, so if something is not very polite you are not caught out

I printed the first link to learn the English.
I read the BBC website and it is odd.
I have never heard "Cosa avanzi?" to say "what do I owe you?" and the prnounce is odd.

While I read them all over
As you all know, repetita iuvant!

quote:

Originally posted by Pola:
I printed the first link to learn the English.
I read the BBC website and it is odd.
I have never heard "Cosa avanzi?" to say "what do I owe you?" and the prnounce is odd.

While I read them all over
As you all know, repetita iuvant!

Actually the phrases

Cosa avanzi, or avanzi qualcosa?
is very typical of my area...+


I wander....

ok, but is it the short for something?

"Cosa avanzi, or avanzi qualcosa?
is very typical of my area.."

Yeah, I've heard it alot, too...but I'm not sure whether it was up here in Piemonte or in Puglia....

I am very far from being the definitive source on this subject. To my Abruzzo ears, if said with a certain inflection the phrase might mean, "What...leftovers??"

Likely pronounced differently it's not unheard of for me either.

Say it with an edge. It's usually used more like a challenge.

Alessandra is right.. the "slang" part of the first link appears to be mostly on the US English side and some of the Italian translations seem needlessly formal. Some personal impressions here, but Alessandra (and other Italians), feel free to add/correct as you see fit:

------
We clicked: Ci siamo trovati bene insieme da subito
C'era subito un "feeling" tra di noi.
(icky-sounding, I know, but the "youth", especially, use this a LOT)

Squat: Non ho niente..
Non ho un bel niente/un tubo/un accidente/un c****..., etc. etc.

Veniamo al punto, al nocciolo
(also, "al sodo"?)

Gone to pot: Tutti i miei piani andati in fumo (up in smoke)
I would say: "andati a rotolo"

un giovinastro...
Never heard this word.. I would use delinquente

pazzo.. so many other words for 'nut job':
e' andato, e' toccato, e' fuori di testa, e' matto (da legare), etc. etc.

L'esame è stato molto facile, come bere un bicchier d'acqua.
I hear more often: "un gioco da ragazzi"

era un facile bersaglio.
I hear: "un pollo"

possiede un'autentica ricchezza (mah!)
e' un riccone

la milionesima volta
I have always heard "la millesima" (inflation?)

I don't want to: non ho voglia di uscire stasera
as opposed to I don't feel like it: non mi va ...

cosa c'è?
in the sense of the example ('what's wrong?').. cosa ha? / cosa hai?

----
Just the tip of the iceberg.. wouldn't it be great to have a really comprehensive bi-lingual slang dictionary? Excellent work, Deirdre, on the foul-language page; it's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it!

quote:

C'era subito un "feeling" tra di noi.
(icky-sounding, I know, but the "youth", especially, use this a LOT)

Don't like it when the English word 'feeling' is used in Italian.

quote:

Originally posted by ladelfina:

We clicked: Ci siamo trovati bene insieme da subito
C'era subito un "feeling" tra di noi.
(icky-sounding, I know, but the "youth", especially, use this a LOT)
C'è stato subito un feeling tra di noi or abbiamo legato subito or ci siamo trovati subito

Veniamo al punto, al nocciolo
(also, "al sodo"?) yes, also "al sodo"

Gone to pot: Tutti i miei piani andati in fumo (up in smoke)
I would say: "andati a rotolo" andati a rotoli (and not rotolo) or use the vulgar "a puttane" "a cagare"

un giovinastro...
Never heard this word.. I would use delinquente
giovinastro is said by oldies...I would say "uno scapestrato" or "uno spiantato"

pazzo.. so many other words for 'nut job':
e' andato, e' toccato, e' fuori di testa, e' matto (da legare), etc. etc. also "è partito" "è fumato"

la milionesima volta
I have always heard "la millesima" (inflation?) We use both... milionesima (1.000.000th time) and millesima (1000th time) are anyway huge numbers

Just the tip of the iceberg.. wouldn't it be great to have a really comprehensive bi-lingual slang dictionary? Excellent work, Deirdre, on the foul-language page; it's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it!

If I am not wrong there are some currently sold online and in the shops.

quote:

Originally posted by ladelfina:
Excellent work, Deirdre, on the foul-language page; it's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it!

Thanks, glad you liked it! It's far and away the most popular page on my site since the day I put it up (and it keeps growing - suggestions on what's missing, especially regional stuff that I don't know, are very welcome).

I'm planning to add sound - click to hear it pronounced - and maybe also video with the appropriate gestures (a bit more extensive than the one linked to on that page, though that one's good). I just need to find someone willing to model - probably some of my daughter's friends!

Enjoy..

How to swear, insult, cuss and curse in Italian! Italian Language Swearing & English Translation.

Wow, that website is VERY racy!