L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano I n I t a l i a n , t h e w o r d t r e m e n d o ( t r a i - m e n h - d o h ) c a n b e surprisingly slippery. O n p a p e r , i t l o o k s simple enough: it comes from the Latin tremĕre, "to trem- ble," and tremendus, mean- i n g " t h a t w h i c h m u s t b e feared or makes one trem- ble." The original meaning was closely tied to fear or awe, something so powerful or terrible it could shake you to the core. In early Italian, this sense held strong, often used in religious or solemn contexts: f o r i n s t a n c e , a c a s t i g o tremendo was not just severe, it was terrifying, divine pun- i s h m e n t , w h i l e a n o t t e tremenda meant your night wasn't just bad, it was truly awful! O v e r t i m e , t h o u g h , tremendo began to shift and today, while it still carries weight in formal or dramatic writing, it means something quite different in everyday Italian, where it has softened and stretched in meaning to cover a wide range of emo- tions and impressions – some negative, some not. For instance, you might hear someone say Che dolore tremendo! ("What an excru- ciating pain!") to describe intense physical pain, or Ho fatto una figuraccia tremen- 1 (feminine of) healthy 3 (feminine of) silent 7 very 8 bees 9 sailors 13 (plural of) of the 14 a lot of 16 oil 17 (I) laugh Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 seed 2 in the 4 (feminine of) human 5 air 6 (you/voi) copy 10 friends 11 hatred 12 (I) fly 15 (plural of) in the; moles da ("I've embarrassed myself s o b a d l y " ) a f t e r a t r u l y embarrassing moment. But the same word pops up in more casual, even affection- ate registers: Quel bambino è tremendo, for example, does- n't mean the child is terrify- ing or awful, it just means he's a handful, mischievous, m a y b e a b i t o f a r a s c a l . Here, tremendo can be trans- lated with "playful," even "charming." Younger Italians might also use it positively, espe- cially with exaggeration: they may say: È stato un concerto tremendo and simply mean that a concert "was amazing." This usage, while not stan- dard, shows how Italian, like most living languages, often b o r r o w s t h e d r a m a t i c t o describe the excellent. I n t e r m s o f r e g i s t e r , tremendo can slip between formal and informal quite easily, but it's rarely neutral. Whether you talk about pain, trouble, excitement, or admi- ration, it always adds color: it's a word that never sits still! Ha avuto un mal di testa tremendo tutto il giorno. He had a terrible headache all day. I tuoi figli sono tremendi, ma fanno ridere! Your kids are a handful, but they're hilarious! LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Tremendo: the thrill, the chill, and everything in between © Viacheslav Iacobchuk | Dreamstime.com 1 to listen 2 man 3 car 4 school 5 face 6 door 7 to hold 8 table 9 Tuesday 10 one 11 river 12 to drink 13 heart 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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