a babbo morto
Italian
editEtymology
editLiterally, “when the father dies”, referencing the necessity to wait for one's father's death to have the inheritance and pay off a debt. Other senses are either unrelated or evolved drastically from the original one.
Adverb
edita babbo morto (originally Tuscany)
- after a long period of time, never
- pagare a babbo morto ― to delay paying of a debt
- in a lazy, unwilling manner
- Che fai lì a babbo morto?
- What are you doing there doing nothing?
- without preparation, randomly
- È andato lì a babbo morto, non sapeva niente.
- He went there unprepared, not knowing anything.
See also
editFurther reading
edit- Accademia della Crusca (2015) “Origine e significato dell'espressione a babbo morto”, in accademiadellacrusca.it[1] (in Italian), archived from the original on 29 August 2022