L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano I n E n g l i s h , a b u f - f o n a t a (boof-foh- NAH-tah) is a farce, a bit of clowning, a r i d i c u l o u s p e r f o r - mance, or, more cuttingly, s o m e t h i n g s o b a d l y d o n e that it cannot be taken seri- ously at all. When Italians throw up their hands and declare "Questa è una buf- fonata!"("This is a farce!"), t h e y m e a n t h a t w h a t e v e r s i t s i n f r o n t o f t h e m ( a botched ceremony, a rigged contest, a hopeless piece of organization) has crossed the line from serious into absurd. The word comes straight from buffone, the buffoon, and behind it lies a wonder- fully physical image, since s c h o l a r s t r a c e b u f f o n e t o the act of puffing out one's c h e e k s , t a k i n g a s l a p t o t h e m , a n d l e t t i n g o u t a ridiculous sound: the oldest and simplest clowning there is. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the buf- fone was the court jester, w h o s e w h o l e j o b w a s t o amuse his lord with antics and lazzi, so that a buffona- ta was, quite literally, the 1 what; that; who 6 cakes 7 yes 9 (he/she) chooses 10 ten 11 before, earlier than 12 to start 15 a, an 16 time; weather 17 in the Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 with the 2 age 3 (you/tu) burn 4 to read 5 (we) exit; go out 8 young 9 written 11 (feminine plural of) first 13 not; no, not any 14 of the s o r t o f t h i n g h e d i d . I t belongs to a cheerful family of words, including buffo, funny, and the opera buffa, c o m i c o p e r a , a l l o f t h e m s p r i n g i n g f r o m t h e s a m e idea of laughter, while the - ata ending is the one Ital- i a n s f i x t o a p e r s o n o r a t h i n g t o m e a n t h e a c t i o n typical of it. Today the word has lost none of its bite, and it can b e a f f e c t i o n a t e , a i m e d a t s o m e o n e m e r e l y f o o l i n g a r o u n d , a s i n : " S m e t t i l a c o n q u e s t e b u f f o n a t e ! ("Stop this nonsense!"), or it can be witheringly seri- ous, the word you reach for when a decision or a trial s t r i k e s y o u a s a s h a m . E i t h e r w a y , i t k e e p s t h a t w h i f f o f t h e c i r c u s , o f cheeks puffed and dignity c h e e r f u l l y a b a n d o n e d , w h i c h i s e x a c t l y w h a t m a k e s i t s o s a t i s f y i n g t o say. Il finale del film è stato una buffonata. T h e e n d i n g o f t h e f i l m was a complete farce Basta con le buffonate, parliamo sul serio E n o u g h c l o w n i n g around, let's talk seriously. Buffonata: Italy's word for clowning and shams © Komgrit Pradissagul | Dreamstime.com 1 mother 2 hand 3 light 4 man 5 school 6 home 7 friend 8 three 9 table 10 one 11 heart 12 face 13 to hold 14 to drink 15 woman 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 LA VITA ITALIANA TRADIZIONI STORIA CULTURA

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