Learn slang expressions to describe someone working hard
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Expressions to Describe Someone Working Hard |
| 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 9. In this lesson, you'll learn expressions to describe someone who works hard. |
| John: Learn some expressions you can use when talking about someone who is working very hard. |
| SLANG EXPRESSIONS |
| John: The expressions you will be learning in this lesson are: |
| Ofelia: rimboccarsi le maniche |
| Ofelia: sudare sette camicie |
| Ofelia: sgobbare |
| Ofelia: ammazzarsi |
| John: Ofelia, what's our first expression? |
| Ofelia: rimboccarsi le maniche |
| John: literally meaning "to roll up one's sleeves." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "start working hard or at a good pace on something." |
| Ofelia: [SLOW] rimboccarsi le maniche [NORMAL] rimboccarsi le maniche |
| John: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Ofelia: rimboccarsi le maniche |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| John: Use this slang expression when describing someone who is working hard on something with great efforts. Usually, it's used to describe a sudden change in the work pace. |
| John: Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Ofelia: [NORMAL] Mi sono rimboccato le maniche e ho pulito tutte le stanze. [SLOW] Mi sono rimboccato le maniche e ho pulito tutte le stanze. |
| John: "I started working hard and cleaned all the rooms." |
| Ofelia: [NORMAL] Mi sono rimboccato le maniche e ho pulito tutte le stanze. |
| John: Okay, what's the next expression? |
| Ofelia: sudare sette camicie |
| John: literally meaning "to sweat seven shirts." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "to have a hell of a time." |
| Ofelia: [SLOW] sudare sette camicie [NORMAL] sudare sette camicie |
| John: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Ofelia: sudare sette camicie |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| John: Use this slang expression when you want to describe someone who is facing temporary and strenuous fatigue to accomplish something. Usually, it's used for urgent or critical situations. |
| John: Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Ofelia: [NORMAL] Ho sudato sette camicie per avere questo certificato. [SLOW] Ho sudato sette camicie per avere questo certificato. |
| John: "I had a hell of a time getting this certificate." |
| Ofelia: [NORMAL] Ho sudato sette camicie per avere questo certificato. |
| John: Okay, what's our next expression? |
| Ofelia: sgobbare |
| John: literally meaning "to become hunchbacked." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "to slog." |
| Ofelia: [SLOW] sgobbare [NORMAL] sgobbare |
| John: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Ofelia: sgobbare |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| John: Use this slang expression when describing someone who works for prolonged hours. You can refer to any work that requires being bent over something, which makes your back hurt, so you can refer to both desk-work and heavy physical work. |
| John: Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Ofelia: [NORMAL] Luca ha sgobbato sui libri tutto l'anno ed è stato ammesso al politecnico. [SLOW] Luca ha sgobbato sui libri tutto l'anno ed è stato ammesso al politecnico. |
| John: "Luca slogged away at his books all year and was admitted to the polytechnic." |
| Ofelia: [NORMAL] Luca ha sgobbato sui libri tutto l'anno ed è stato ammesso al politecnico. |
| John: Okay, what's the last expression? |
| Ofelia: ammazzarsi |
| John: literally meaning "to kill oneself." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "to make great efforts." |
| Ofelia: [SLOW] ammazzarsi [NORMAL] ammazzarsi |
| John: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Ofelia: ammazzarsi |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| John: Use this slang expression when referring to someone who makes huge efforts on something, often sacrificing basic needs, like sleeping hours and meals. |
| John: Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Ofelia: [NORMAL] Mi sono ammazzato per preparare la cena e alla fine non è venuto nessuno! [SLOW] Mi sono ammazzato per preparare la cena e alla fine non è venuto nessuno! |
| John: "I made such great efforts to prepare dinner and in the end nobody came!" |
| Ofelia: [NORMAL] Mi sono ammazzato per preparare la cena e alla fine non è venuto nessuno! |
| 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 have a tough time getting something done. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Ofelia: sudare sette camicie |
| John: "to have a hell of a time" |
| John: You need to start working harder on something. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Ofelia: rimboccarsi le maniche |
| John: "start working hard or at a good pace on something" |
| John: You have to give up some sleep to finish the project. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Ofelia: ammazzarsi |
| John: "to make great efforts" |
| John: You have to work at your desk for hours to finish work. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Ofelia: sgobbare |
| John: "to slog" |
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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