Seven common Italian expressions with the word testa

Two weeks ago, I told you that there are many common Italian expressions with the word testa and I explained eight of them.

Now, I’d like to add seven more common Italian expressions with the word testa.

1. Dare alla testa

In Italian, this expression has at least two different meanings. The first meaning it can have is related to alcoholic drinks. If an acoholic drink ti dà alla testa, it makes you feel drunk.

Ex: Lo spumante gli ha dato alla testa
Sparkling wine went to his head

Another meaning of dare alla testa is to show disapproval. If you say that success gli ha dato alla testa, you’re thinking that after having success a person is thinking to be more confident, successful, powerful or cleverer than he actually is.

Ex: Il successo gli ha dato alla testa
Success went to his head

2. Essere fuori di testa

Among these common Italian expressions essere fuori di testa is really widely used.

Essere fuori di testa can have two meanings. It can mean to be unable to behave normally or to think normally because you’re very worried about something or angry with someone.

Ex: Era fuori di testa, continuava a urlare e a lanciare oggetti
He was out of his mind, he kept yelling and throwing objects

Essere fuori di testa can also mean to be very stupid.

Ex: Ha speso 3000 euro per una normalissima penna, è fuori di testa!
He spent 3000 euros for a normal pen, he must be out of his mind!

3. Essere in testa

Essere in testa in Italian means to be in the first position. This is usually used when talking about songs and sport events.

Examples:

a. La canzone di J-AX è in testa alla classifica
J-AX’s song shot to the top of the charts

b. Peter Sagan è in testa alla gara
Peter Sagan is in the lead of the race

4. Testa calda

Testa calda in Italian indicates someone who acts quickly, without thinking carefully.

Ex: Marco è una testa calda e quindi si ritrova spesso nei guai
Marco is hot-headed and so he gets often into troubles

5. Testa di cavolo

This is one of the most common Italian expressions. Testa di cavolo indicates someone who’s an idiot or who’s stubborn.

Its vulgar equivalent is testa di cazzo.

Ex: Francesco è una testa di cavolo, non capisce niente
Francesco is a dickhead, he understands nothing

6. Tener testa

Tener testa means to refuse to accept unfair treatment and fight back.

Ex: Mario è un bullo ma tu gli hai tenuto testa, sono fiero di te
Mario’s a bully but you stood up to him, I’m proud of you

7. Fare una testa così

Finally, the Italian expression fare una testa così means to annoy someone with small talks or to annoy someone by insisting for a long time.

Ex: Luca mi ha fatto una testa così per convincermi ad andare al concerto e poi non si è neanche presentato!
Luca insisted so much to convince me to go to the concert with him and then he didn’t even show up!

 

How many of these seven common Italian expressions were new for you?

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Credits

Original image by designundfotoart