gettare alle ortiche

Italian edit

Literally, “to throw to the nettles”. Compare French jeter aux orties.

gettàre alle ortiche (first-person singular present gètto alle ortiche, first-person singular past historic gettài alle ortiche, past participle gettàto alle ortiche, auxiliary avére)

to abandon; to leave behind; to discard; to throw to the winds
Synonyms: abbandonare, lasciare, lasciare alle spalle, sbarazzarsi, liberarsi, disfarsi

Se vi fosse arrivato un istante dopo, Romeo avrebbe potuto sincerarsi della salute di Giulietta gettando alle ortiche la fiala di veleno.
If he would have gotten there an instant later, Romeo could have made sure of Juliet's health, discarding the vial of poison.
to throw away; to waste
Synonyms: sprecare, sciupare, buttare via

This is the most common form of the locution, but similar verbs of motion such as buttare or mandare are also possible.