L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano T h e I t a l i a n w o r d f i a s c o (fee-ah- skoh) originally refers to a type of bottle, specifically a round-bottomed glass flask often encased in a straw bas- ket, traditionally used for I t a l i a n w i n e s l i k e Chianti. So, if you are at a local osteria somewhere in S a n G i m i g n a n o , y o u m a y just find a fiasco di vino (a flask of wine) on your table! Over time, however, fiasco evolved to describe a com- plete failure or disaster, a m e a n i n g t h a t h a s b e e n adopted into English as well, and that today is, perhaps, even more common than the original. E t y m o l o g i c a l l y , f i a s c o comes from the Late Latin term flasco, which in turn came from the Gothic word flasko; indeed, it was the Goths who introduced this new type of bottle, character- ized by a round body and l o n g , t h i n n e c k , t o t h e Romans, who were already commonly using both object and word between the 4th and the 5th century AD. T h e t r a n s i t i o n f r o m meaning "bottle" to "failure" is believed to have originated from the Italian phrase far fiasco, literally "to make a bottle," used in theatrical slang since the 18th century 1 wire 3 pay, money given for work done; (he/she) pays 7 not; no, not any 8 (you/tu) come 9 (we) wash 13 west 15 (he) is (going, staying etc.) 16 (masculine plural of) tall 17 nest Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 end 2 line 4 bee 5 air 6 (you/voi) start 10 museums 11 thing 12 branch 14 east t o d e n o t e a p o o r p e r f o r - m a n c e . S e v e r a l t h e o r i e s a t t e m p t t o e x p l a i n t h i s u s a g e : o n e s u g g e s t s t h a t V e n e t i a n g l a s s b l o w e r s w o u l d r e p u r p o s e f l a w e d glassware into common bot- tles; thus, a fiasco symbol- ized a failed attempt at cre- a t i n g s o m e t h i n g beautiful. Another theory maintains that the phrase referred to actors who, upon forgetting their lines, would "make a bottle"— perhaps a colloquialism implying they had blundered. However, t h e e x a c t o r i g i n r e m a i n s uncertain. With this meaning, the term fiasco was incorporat- ed into English in the mid- 19th century, with its earli- est recorded usage dating back to around 1854. …And this is why, today, fiasco is commonly used in both Italian and English to describe situations that have gone disastrously wrong. La festa è stato un fiasco totale. The party was a total fias- co. Il progetto si è trasfor- mato in un fiasco. The project turned into a fiasco. Il lancio del prodotto è stato un completo fiasco. The product launch was a complete flop. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Fiasco, a bottle or a disaster? © Luiza Nalimova | Dreamstime.com 1 river 2 mother 3 head 4 Tuesday 5 to turn 6 girl 7 three 8 school 9 man 10 to eat 11 to listen 12 hand 13 boy 14 face 15 father A C R O S S D O W N ITALIAN WORD SEARCH The solution to these word games will be available on the next edition. Games courtesy of Lexis Rex

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