L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano I n Italian, few words a r e a s c o m m o n a s freddo (fred-doh). Freddo comes from t h e L a t i n f r i g i d u s , " i c y , v e r y c o l d , " w h i c h i s linked to an ancient Indo- European root for low tem- peratures. From late Latin we also get forms used as nouns, meaning "coldness" or "cold air," traces of which survive in many Italian place names such as Acquafredda, Fontanafredda, Montefreddo or Riofreddo, all connected with chilly climates or cold springs. As an adjective, freddo first of all describes tempera- ture, as in Oggi fa freddo ("It's cold today"), or È una giornata fredda e ventosa ("It's a cold, windy day"). N o t e t h a t i n I t a l i a n , t h e weather can be expressed impersonally (fa freddo) but also with a place as subject: Q u i è f r e d d o ( " I t ' s c o l d here"). From the physical sense, freddo easily moves into fig- urative meanings: you can talk about una stanza fredda e s p o g l i a ( a c o l d , b a r e room), una risposta fredda (a cold reply), or uno sguar- do freddo (a cold look) to i n d i c a t e d i s t a n c e , l a c k o f 1 hip 3 (I) turn 7 with, in the company of 8 (you/tu) dig 9 hair 13 west 15 gold 16 (feminine of) tall 17 (I) live Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 axes 2 (he/she) sings 4 anger 5 hatred 6 (I) wait 10 lions 11 pink; rose 12 (I) am; (they) are 14 east warmth, or emotional hard- ness. A s a n o u n , i l f r e d d o refers both to the climate and to how we feel it. Il fred- d o è a r r i v a t o p r e s t o q u e s t ' a n n o ( " T h e c o l d a r r i v e d e a r l y t h i s y e a r " ) talks about the season, while Soffro molto il freddo ("I really suffer from the cold") highlights a personal sensa- tion. In everyday Italian the k e y s t r u c t u r e i s w i t h t h e v e r b a v e r e , s o w e s a y h o f r e d d o , a b b i a m o f r e d d o ("I'm cold", "we're cold"), so be careful not to use essere, as we do in English! A r o u n d f r e d d o a s m a l l family of expressions has f o r m e d : U n f r e d d o p u n - gente is a biting cold that a l m o s t h u r t s t h e s k i n ; ragionare a freddo means t o t h i n k c a l m l y , w i t h o u t being driven by emotion; a tipo freddoloso is someone who always feels cold. And a freddura is a corny joke or pun, a play on words that can leave the listener… a bit cold! Oggi fa proprio freddo, ricordati di mettere il cap- potto. I t ' s r e a l l y c o l d t o d a y , remember to wear your coat. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Freddo: it is its season! © Monkey Business Images Ltd | Dreamstime.com 1 woman 2 to turn 3 school 4 to eat 5 boy 6 heart 7 hand 8 to drink 9 bird 10 head 11 light 12 Monday 13 book 14 one 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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