cartina tornasole

Italian

Alternative forms

• cartina di tornasole, cartina al tornasole (proscribed, but less common)

Noun

cartina tornasole f (plural cartine tornasole)

1. (chemistry) litmus paper
2. (figurative) irrefutable evidence, proof; smoking gun

Further reading

• tornasole in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana