Today's phrase is for when you need a little bit of discretion.
A quattr'occhi (hear it pronounced here) means, literally, 'between four eyes' – in other words, 'between the two of us'.
It implies a meeting both in person and in private, making it 'face-to-face' and 'one-on-one' at the same time.
Devo parlarti a quattr’occhi.
I need to speak to you in private.
Ero convinto sarebbe stato un colloquio a quattr'occhi.
I thought this was going to be a private conversation.
Ti dispiace se faccio una chiacchierata a quattr'occhi con il mio ragazzo?
Do you mind if I have a little tête-à-tête with my boyfriend?
The expression is not to be confused with quattrocchi ('four eyes'), an irreverent term for someone who wears glasses.
Quattrocchi is also the Italian name of the common goldeneye – a duck found in lakes and rivers across North America, northern Europe and Russia.
Finally, quattrocchi happens to be what Brainy Smurf was called in the Italian version of The Smurfs (I Puffi) for reasons you can probably see for yourself.
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