avere a ridosso

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “to have at shelter”.

Verb

avére a ridosso (first-person singular present (with syntactic gemination after the verb) hò a ridosso, first-person singular past historic èbbi a ridosso or ébbi a ridosso, past participle avùto a ridosso, first-person singular future avrò a ridosso, first-person singular subjunctive àbbia a ridosso, second-person singular imperative àbbi a ridosso, auxiliary avére) (transitive)

1. to have (someone) who follows insistingly or threateningly; to be dogged or harassed

   aveva gli sbirri a ridosso

   he had the cops following (him)

2. (figurative, by extension) to have (someone) on one's tail

   ho i creditori a ridosso

   I have the creditors on my tail

3. (Tuscany) to have (someone) who is dependent

   Synonym: avere a carico

   ha tutti i sui figli a ridosso

   he has all of his children as dependent