Читать книгу 100 Of The Best Curses and Insults In Italian: A Toolkit for the Testy Tourist - Rachel Federman, Chuck Gonzales, Rachel Federman - Страница 9
ОглавлениеAfter a 3,000-calorie dinner-and-drink session with your amici (friends), you decide to stroll back to your hotel instead of sharing a taxi with the others. En route you are stopped by a feeble woman in a flowery skirt with a back hunched 85 degrees more than it should be at her age. Cradling a pilly blanket in her arms, she moans pitifully while inching her way toward you. “Bambino, bambino, my baby, my baby. . .” She extends an open-palmed and filthy hand toward your bleeding heart.
What to do:
Put away the tissues, you sentimental fool! There is no starving baby inside that filthy rag. When was the last time you heard a hungry baby keep so quiet, anyway? You've just fallen victim to one of the most common yet ingenious ploys used on tourists in Italy. So don't get sappy, get mad!
What to say:
LEVATI DAI PIEDI!
“Get lost!”
It’s appropriate to say this because. . .
You work for your money. You don’t beg or steal, even though the prospect often sounds significantly more appealing than your 9 to 5 misery. Remember that by giving a an aggressive beggar money, you’re perpetuating the cycle. Help society by teaching those importunate slackers that bumming doesn’t pay!
EXTRA CREDIT
Beggars can be persistent. It may take a couple of rebuffs to make your point. As such, here are some other useful phrases:
NON HO UNA LIRA, CAPITO?
“I've got no money, dig?”
Even though euros have replaced lira in Italy, Italians still understand and use this expression regularly.
LASCIAMI IN PACE!
“Leave me alone!”
And if all else fails, here’s your silver bullet:
CHIAMO LA POLIZIA!
“I'm going to call the police!”
