To teach a language, you need to have a memory like iron and, above all, you need to be able to explain how a heavy metal ended up inside your brain!

In reality, avere una memoria di ferro (to have an iron memory) is an idiomatic expression used to say that you have a good memory.

An idiomatic expression is a phrase whose meaning goes beyond the meaning of the individual words that make it up. As expressions peculiar to a language, they cannot be translated literally into another language.

Teaching Italian, I realised that idiomatic expressions are many more than one might imagine: everyday expressions that, taken literally, make no sense at all are in fact nothing more than idiomatic expressions.

In this post we will talk about idiomatic expressions that have to do with the mouth (bocca). Happy reading!

Acqua in bocca (literally: water in your mouth). You say acqua in bocca when you ask someone not to reveal a secret. It comes from the fact that with water in your mouth you cannot speak, and therefore you cannot reveal secrets either.

“È un segreto tra noi, acqua in bocca!”
“Es ist ein Geheimnis unter uns, Wasser im Mund!”

Acquolina in bocca. It expresses the increase in salivation caused by the sight, or the thought, of something you strongly desire.

There are corresponding expressions in English, “my mouth is watering”, and in German, “mir läuft das Wasser im Mund zusammen”.

“Il pensiero della cena di stasera mi fa venire l’acquolina in bocca.”
“Der Gedanke an das Abendessen heute Abend lässt mir das Wasser im Munde zusammenlaufen.”

A bocca asciutta (literally: with a dry mouth). To be left, or to leave someone, a bocca asciutta, that is, with nothing, despite favourable prospects.

“Mi aspettavo di ricevere un aumento quest’anno invece sono rimasto a bocca asciutta.”
“Ich habe dieses Jahr mit einer Gehaltserhöhung gerechnet, jedoch bin ich leer ausgegangen.”

La bocca della verità (the mouth of truth). To be la bocca della verità means being someone who does not lie, who always speaks with honesty and wisdom.

“Giulia è la bocca della verità.”
“Giulia ist die Wahrheit in Person.”

Respirazione bocca a bocca (mouth-to-mouth resuscitation). It is a first-aid breathing technique: it consists of bringing your mouth close to the injured person’s mouth and blowing air into their lungs.

“Dopo la respirazione bocca a bocca ha ripreso conoscenza.”
“Nach der Mund zu Mund Beatmung hat er das Bewusstsein wiedererlangt.”

In bocca al lupo (literally: into the wolf’s mouth). Today the big bad wolf probably no longer scares anyone, but once the wolf was a serious threat to people. Crossing a forest could mean being torn to pieces in the jaws of a pack of ferocious wolves. Nevertheless, typical Italian superstition has reversed the logical-literal meaning, turning “in bocca al lupo” into a wish.

The expression in bocca al lupo, even though it evokes a bloody image, is in fact nothing more than a wish of good luck.

The reply to give, “so that everything goes well”, is “crepi (il lupo)” (literally: may the wolf die).

“Oggi ho l’esame di matematica” “In bocca al lupo” “Crepi!”
“Heute habe ich eine Mathematikprüfung” “In bocca al lupo” (dt. viel Glück) “Crepi!” (dt. Verrecke!).

Restare a bocca aperta (to be left with your mouth open). You remain a bocca aperta, unable to speak, out of surprise, or admiration, or because of something unexpected.

“Quando ho visto il suo vestito sono rimasta a bocca aperta”.
“Als ich ihr Kleid gesehen habe, bin ich mit offenem Mund stehen geblieben”.

Non aprire bocca (not to open your mouth). Contrary to the previous case, here the mouth stays shut. It means not speaking, staying silent.

“Non ho aperto bocca per tutta la serata”.
“Ich habe den ganzen Abend den Mund nicht aufgemacht”.

Il mattino ha l’oro in bocca (the morning has gold in its mouth). It is a proverb of Latin origin; it also exists in German, “Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund”. It indicates how, according to popular wisdom, the morning hours are the most profitable for work and business.

“Mi sono alzato presto stamattina perché il mattino ha l’oro in bocca”.
“Ich bin frühe aufgestanden weil Morgenstunde Gold im Mund hat”.

Essere sulla bocca di tutti (to be on everyone’s lips). Taken literally, the phrase has a surreal quality: not only do mouths big enough to support a person exist, but this person also has the gift of ubiquity, resting on everyone’s mouth. Clearly, essere sulla bocca di tutti is used in a figurative sense, meaning everyone is talking about this person.

“Dopo l’ultimo scandalo è sulla bocca di tutti.”
“Nach dem letzten Skandal, ist sie in aller Munde.”

Rifarsi la bocca (to refresh one’s palate). In most cases it has nothing to do with cosmetic surgery. It has both a literal and a figurative sense: to cancel an unpleasant taste or impression with something more pleasant.

“Dopo quella cena disgustosa mi sono rifatto la bocca con un dolce”.
“Nach einem unappetitlichen Abendessen, erfreute ich mich am Geschmack der Nachspeise.”

 

That is all for the idiomatic expressions, but for lovers of the Italian language I still have two pearls concerning the mouth.

Pearl number 1. A song that is a poem, by one of the greatest Italian singer-songwriters, sadly now deceased, Fabrizio De André; the song is “Bocca di rosa”. A wonderful song that I hope you can understand in all its nuances. Listen on YouTube.

Pearl number 2. The monologue L’uomo dal fiore in bocca (The Man with the Flower in His Mouth) by the Sicilian writer Luigi Pirandello. You can find a reproduction of it here

A reflection on life, profound and at the same time light, in pure Pirandellian style.

[su_quote]Venga… le faccio vedere una cosa… Guardi, qua, sotto questo baffo… qua, vede che bel tubero violaceo? Sa come si chiama questo? Ah, un nome dolcissimo… più dolce d’una caramella: – Epitelioma, si chiama. Pronunzi, sentirà che dolcezza: epitelioma… La morte, capisce? è passata. M’ha ficcato questo fiore in bocca, e m’ha detto: – «Tientelo, caro: ripasserò fra otto o dieci mesi!»[/su_quote]

This one-act play has been, and still is today, a test bench for every actor aspiring to the title of “great”. For example, here you will find a rendition by the great Vittorio Gassman: Watch on YouTube.

Note on the author of this post

Giulia Pulizzotto was born in Germany, in Munich, but has Italian origins, as her surname reveals. She is an Italian and German teacher in Munich. Teaching languages as well as travelling are her great passions.

Studio NaVivo is her project for teaching Italian to lovers of the language of the Bel Paese and German to those who, out of necessity or interest, have found themselves in Germany.