Italy

Italian Slang for Everyday Things

4 Italian slang terms for everyday things, each with its meaning, how it is pronounced and an example of it in use.

Informal names for ordinary things and ordinary activities — the domestic layer of slang that rarely makes phrasebooks but comes up constantly.

andare a ruba

phrase, idiom · Colloquial

To sell out fast; to fly off the shelves.

beccare

verb · Informal

To catch someone in the act. Mi hanno beccato — 'I got caught'.

+1 more sense

sbattersi

verb · Informal

To go to a lot of trouble over something. Uno sbattimento is a hassle.

sgamare

verb · Informal

To rumble someone; to work out what they are really up to. Stronger than beccare — it implies seeing through a deception, not just catching someone out.