Originally posted by Beef Oven!
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Since when did probably = certainty? 
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OK smararse! This isn't pedants' corner you know! -
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A disproportionate influence on American English, though. Read Damon Runyon, and reflect on how many calques from Italian made it into mainstream AmE.Originally posted by Sir Velo View PostComment
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Any history of American English will tell you that its slang is drawn from English, French, Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Dutch, and Native American languages, other accretions from foreign languages came with 19th and early 20th century immigration; notably, from Yiddish (chutzpah, schmooze, tush) and German—hamburger and culinary terms like frankfurter/franks, liverwurst, sauerkraut, wiener, deli(catessen); scram, kindergarten, gesundheit; musical terminology (whole note, half note, etc.); and apparently cookbook, fresh ("impudent") and what gives? Such constructions as Are you coming with? and I like to dance (for "I like dancing") may also be the result of German or Yiddish influence.Originally posted by jean View Post
Finally, a large number of English colloquialisms from various periods are American in origin; some have lost their American flavor (from OK and cool to nerd and 24/7), while others have not (have a nice day, sure); many are now distinctly old-fashioned (swell, groovy). Some English words now in general use, such as hijacking, disc jockey, boost, bulldoze and jazz, originated as American slang. Among the many English idioms of U.S. origin are get the hang of, bark up the wrong tree, keep tabs, run scared, take a backseat, have an edge over, stake a claim, take a shine to, in on the ground floor, bite off more than one can chew, off/on the wagon, stay put, inside track, stiff upper lip, bad hair day, throw a monkey wrench, under the weather, jump bail, come clean, come again?, it ain't over till it's over, what goes around comes around, and will the real x please stand up?
Not many of these are conspicuously Italian, but hey whadda I know?Comment
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We were only talking about one.Originally posted by Sir Velo View Post
(Radio64 provides another, above.)Comment
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"Gone Chopin, Bach in a minuet."Comment
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I'd always thought baloney to be an Irish word for nonsense.Comment
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Imported by returning emigrants.Comment
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Not sure that the Italian has quite the same meaning. 'To die for' indicates something desirable - it has a solely positive meaning. Doesn't the Italian have a closer meaning to the English 'to death' (bores me to death, sick to death) in being more frequently negative (Mi dispiace da morire)?Originally posted by jean View PostIt isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.Comment
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I was never aware of it with a negative meaning at all - my friends always used it for something wonderful. And they used it a lot!
When I look it up I find phrases like ti amo da morire, but nobody ever said that to me
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So is one adverbial, the other adjectival?It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.Comment
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For some reason I'm finding 'tour de force' to be increasingly annoying.
(e.g. "Schmeckleberger's new symphony/novel/film is a tour de force..." or occasionally "a tour de force of X")Comment
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In Italian it can probably be either - in conversation you can't always tell.Originally posted by french frank View Post
I was surprised to see that the OED ha some examples of 'to die' as an adjective without the 'for':
1982 A. Maupin Further Tales of City 96 The guy had this incredible loft..with neon tubing over the bed and high-tech everything..to die, right?Last edited by jean; 23-02-14, 22:09.Comment
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