L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano M a n m a n o ( m a h n - mahno) is a c o m - m o n I t a l i a n a d v e r b i a l expression meaning "gradu- ally," "little by little," or "as …" when followed by che. Etymologically it is an ellip- sis of a mano a mano ("hand by hand"), recorded in early modern Italian; over time t h e p r e p o s i t i o n d r o p p e d , leaving man mano and the older variant mano a mano with the same gradual sense, though mano a mano today is less used. It is invariable and usually precedes che to introduce a dependent clause marking parallel progression: in this case, it is always followed by the indicative. However, it can also appear without che before a verb or phrase, for instance: Man mano, impari ("You'll learn, little by lit- tle"). Synonyms include a poco a poco, via via, and grad- ualmente. Be careful though! Do not translate man mano as "by hand!" E n g l i s h e q u i v a l e n t s 2 flat, even; plan, set of intended actions 5 where 6 king 7 wheels 13 fisherman 14 line 18 you 19 blade 20 beginnings Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 you (plural) 2 for 3 (I) love; hook (for fishing) 4 hours 8 to use 9 (plural of) yours, possessive pronoun 10 bee 11 (you/tu) exit; go out 12 of the 14 he 15 (plural of) in the; moles 16 wings 17 (you/tu) love depend on context: "gradu- ally," "little by little," "bit by bit," or "as/while" are the expressions that mirror man mano more closely. Howev- er, when translating man mano che, prefer "as" over " w h i l e " i f b o t h e l e m e n t s change in step. In Italian prose, writers sometimes set the phrase off with commas for rhythm but t h i s i s o p t i o n a l , a s i n A g g i u n g i i l b r o d o , m a n mano che il riso lo assorbe ("Add the stock gradually, as the rice absorbs it"), Impar- erai man mano, senza fretta ("You'll learn little by little, no rush"), or Man mano che passano i giorni, la ferita guarisce ("As the days go by, the wound heals"). Register is neutral and works in speech and writing, so you can use man mano whenever you want! I l t r a f f i c o a u m e n t a v a m a n m a n o c h e c i a v v i c i - navamo al centro. Traffic increased as we got closer to the center. La nebbia si diradò man mano che il sole saliva. The fog lifted as the sun rose. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Man mano: because Rome wasn't built in a day! © Vadimgozhda | Dreamstime.com 1 boy 2 man 3 friend 4 bird 5 to turn 6 to talk 7 two 8 to run 9 heart 10 river 11 shirt 12 hand 13 son 14 light 15 car 16 Tuesday 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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