Director of The Florentine Marco Badiani speaks great English, but, when it comes to idiomatic phrases, his choice is to be the king of the ‘detto non detto,’ offering creative literal translations of Italian idioms. His colourful turns of phrase never cease to make us laugh. In this column, we serve up the finest ‘Marco-isms’ of the month.
Remove the potatoes from the fire
Italian: Togliere le patate dal fuoco
Meaning: Solve a burning question
We’re at the carpet
Italian: Siamo a tappeto
Meaning: Back to square one
