Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Number Related Idioms
John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ItalianPod101.com. I'm John.
Ofelia: And I'm Ofelia!
John: This is Must-Know Italian Slang Words and Phrases, Season 1, Lesson 20. In this lesson, you'll learn number-related idioms.
John: Learn some useful idioms about numbers that you can use in everyday conversation.
SLANG EXPRESSIONS
John: The expressions you will be learning in this lesson are:
Ofelia: sparare a zero
Ofelia: grazie mille
Ofelia: a quattr'occhi
Ofelia: dare i numeri
John: Ofelia, what's our first expression?
Ofelia: sparare a zero
John: literally meaning "to shoot at zero." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to criticize harshly, to attack verbally."
Ofelia: [SLOW] sparare a zero [NORMAL] sparare a zero
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Ofelia: sparare a zero
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression when you want to criticize something or someone heavily.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Ofelia: [NORMAL] Hanno sparato a zero contro il nuovo allenatore. [SLOW] Hanno sparato a zero contro il nuovo allenatore.
John: "They criticized the new coach."
Ofelia: [NORMAL] Hanno sparato a zero contro il nuovo allenatore.
John: Okay, what's the next expression?
Ofelia: grazie mille
John: literally meaning "thanks a thousand." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "thanks so much."
Ofelia: [SLOW] grazie mille [NORMAL] grazie mille
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Ofelia: grazie mille
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression when you want to thank someone in a friendly way.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Ofelia: [NORMAL] A: Tieni, questo è per te. B: Oh, grazie mille! [SLOW] A: Tieni, questo è per te. B: Oh, grazie mille!
John: "A: Here, this is for you. B: Oh, thanks so much!"
Ofelia: [NORMAL] A: Tieni, questo è per te. B: Oh, grazie mille!
John: Okay, what's our next expression?
Ofelia: a quattr'occhi
John: literally meaning "at four eyes." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "face to face, in private."
Ofelia: [SLOW] a quattr'occhi [NORMAL] a quattr'occhi
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Ofelia: a quattr'occhi
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression when you want to talk to someone in private, somewhere where there are no more than four eyes in total.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Ofelia: [NORMAL] Dobbiamo parlare a quattr'occhi. [SLOW] Dobbiamo parlare a quattr'occhi.
John: "We need to talk in private."
Ofelia: [NORMAL] Dobbiamo parlare a quattr'occhi.
John: Okay, what's the last expression?
Ofelia: dare i numeri
John: literally meaning "to give the numbers." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to go crazy, to stop working."
Ofelia: [SLOW] dare i numeri [NORMAL] dare i numeri
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Ofelia: dare i numeri
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression when talking about losing one's mind. This can also be used when referring to objects not working properly.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Ofelia: [NORMAL] Calmati, stai dando i numeri. [SLOW] Calmati, stai dando i numeri.
John: "Calm down, you're going crazy."
Ofelia: [NORMAL] Calmati, stai dando i numeri.
QUIZ
John: Okay listeners, are you ready to be quizzed on the expressions you just learned? I will describe four situations, and you will choose the right expression to use in your reply. Are you ready?
John: You just received a beautiful present.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Ofelia: grazie mille
John: "thanks so much"
John: The students are speaking ill of the new teacher.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Ofelia: sparare a zero
John: "to criticize harshly, to attack verbally"
John: Your friend is acting strange.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Ofelia: dare i numeri
John: "to go crazy, to stop working"
John: Two people need to have an important conversation.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Ofelia: a quattr'occhi
John: "face to face, in private"

Outro

John: There you have it; you have mastered four Italian Slang Expressions! We have more vocab lists available at ItalianPod101.com so be sure to check them out. Thanks everyone, and see you next time!
Ofelia: A presto.

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