salubre
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the adjective, salubre, which means healthy or wholesome. This adjective is used in the context of the weather or to describe a healthy or wholesome environment or climate. See the expression used below in its context:
Mi piace andare in montagna perché l’aria è salubre e sono lontano da tutto e tutti.
I like to go to the mountains because the air is healthy, and I am far from everything and everyone.
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fare sega
Today’s Parola del Giorno is similar: the verb expression, fare sega. It means to play hooky or to blow off (work or school). See the expression used below in its context:
Oggi non avevo voglia di andare al lavoro e ho deciso di fare sega e sono andato al mare, preferendo passare una giornata lontano da tutto e tutti! Lontano dallo stress e dai colleghi pigri e incapaci! Che senso di libertà!
I didn’t feel like going to work today and decided to blow it off and went to the seaside, preferring to spend a day far from everyone and everything! Far from the stress and from lazy and incapable co-workers! What a sense of freedom!
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la coppetta
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the noun, la coppetta, which means cup. A coppetta is a small little cup that one would get at a gelateria in place of a cone. See the noun used below in its context:
Mentre una coppetta è più conveniente e meno sporca, mangiare un gelato con un cono è un’esperienza.
While a cup is more convenient and less messy, eating a gelato in a cone is an experience.
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il pacco
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the noun, il pacco, which means package, but it can also mean rip-off, something that is not what it claims to be. See the noun used below in its contexts:
Il pacco speditomi da Keith mi è arrivato con tre giorni di ritardo.
The package Keith sent me arrived three days late.
or
Quell’attaccante si è rivelato un vero e proprio pacco! Non mi spiego come abbia fatto la società a investire tanti soldi su di lui!
That striker turned out to be a real rip-off! I don’t understand how the club invested so much money in him.
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il vilipendio
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the noun, il vilipendio, which means contempt or scorn. You’ll see this noun used in the press and in news reports to refer to insults or defamation. Defamation can be considered a serious offense in Italy, often blurring the boundaries between freedom of speech/expression and slander, and many authors are sued for it in Italy because of things that they write or say, even American authors (Alexander Stille was sued for defamation by Berlusconi for a biography he wrote about Italy’s former premier). You can see the noun used below in its context:
Dopo aver scritto un articolo che ha criticato il governo, Pietro era informato dal suo capo che sarebbe stato indagato per vilipendio.
After having written an article that criticized the government, Pietro was told by his boss he would be investigated for defamation.
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il raggio
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the noun, il raggio (pl. i raggi), which can mean spoke, like the spokes of a bicycle tire. See the noun used below in its context:
Da piccoli io e mia sorella litigavamo sempre! Una volta mi mise un bastone fra i raggi della bici e cadi a terra facendomi molto male. Mi dovettero persino ingessare il braccio destro!
When we were kids, my sister and I always used to argue. One time she put a stick between the spokes of my bike, and I fell down, badly injuring myself. They even had to put my right arm in a cast!
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il rovescio a due mani
Today’s Parola del Giorno is the noun phrase, il rovescio a due mani, which means two-handed backhand. The French Open finishes up this week so I thought that this word would be fitting given the tournament no underway! See the expression used below in its context:
Il rovescio a due mani è considerato un colpo più difficile da padroneggiare rispetto al diritto.
The two-handed backhand is considered a more difficult shot to master compared to the forehand.
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