L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano T h e I t a l i a n v e r b s p i c c i a r s i ( s p e e t c h - t c h a r - see) might seem straightforward, but there is more to it than it seems! Often translated as "to hurry up," it has deeper linguistic roots and curious regional shades of meaning than one may expect. Derived from the Latin expedire, meaning to disen- tangle or make ready, spic- ciarsi came to describe the act of resolving something quickly or removing obsta- c l e s , h e n c e t h e e v o l u t i o n t o w a r d u r g e n c y o r h a s t e . Today, spicciati! (which is the imperative of spicciarsi) is a common and firm way of t e l l i n g s o m e o n e t o g e t a move on. Parents say it to dawdling children (spicciati c h e è t a r d i ! ) , f r i e n d s t o friends running late (dai, spicciati!), or even to them- selves when under time pres- sure. The reflexive form (spic- c i a r s i ) i s u s e d i n t h i s idiomatic sense, while the non-reflexive spicciare has additional meanings though not equally common across Italy. For instance, spicciare i soldi refers to breaking a l a r g e r b i l l i n t o c o i n s o r smaller denominations, and 1 (I) love; hook (for fishing) 6 wheels 7 (I) give 9 October 10 cake 11 books 12 cupboard; closet; wardrobe 15 a, an 16 land 17 he Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 wings 2 hour; now 3 (he/she) counts 4 shop 5 to smell 8 (they) run 9 eighty 11 litre 13 from the 14 you (plural) spicciare casa means to tidy up quickly. But here's where geography plays a role: these e x p r e s s i o n s a r e f a r m o r e t y p i c a l i n c e n t r a l a n d southern Italy, especially in regions like Lazio, Cam- pania, and Sicily. In much of the north, you're unlikely to hear them; instead, people might say cambiare i soldi (to change money) or sis- temare casa (to tidy up). The word has even crept into humor and colloquial speech. Someone perpetual- ly late might be teased with non si spiccia nemmeno se prende fuoco la casa ("they wouldn't hurry even if the house were on fire"). In short, spicciarsi is a small but telling example of h o w I t a l i a n e x p r e s s e s urgency, and how language can reflect regional identity just as much as culture. Spicciati, che siamo in ritardo! Hurry up, we're late! Mi spiccio a finire questa cosa e arrivo. I'm rushing to finish this and then I'll come. Spicciati a decidere, non abbiamo tutto il giorno. M a k e u p y o u r m i n d quickly, we don't have all day. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Spicciati: the word to use when your friends are too slow Photo: Vasyl Dolmatov/Dreamstime 1 hand 2 home 3 door 4 Monday 5 friend 6 father 7 two 8 to talk 9 three 10 man 11 son 12 one 13 to run 14 to hold 15 river 16 light 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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