Italian Idiomatic Expressions: Bread & Wine

I love Italian idiomatic expressions – those sayings you just can’t translate directly but which make the Italian language the colorful and charming language it is.

Today’s saying is a fine example of how central food is to life in Italy:

Diciamo pane al pane e vino al vino.

In Italy, it just wouldn’t do to say something like “Let’s call a spade a spade,” which is what this phrase means. Instead, this food-centric culture incorporates two very important food items into the phrase, which literally translates to, “Let’s say bread for bread and wine for wine.” I’m hungry now.

I’ll keep sharing Italian idiomatic expressions with you periodically; and if you’ve got a favorite saying, let me know!

If you like this one, check out some of the other Italian idiomatic expressions I’ve posted about, too.