Italian expression of the day: 'Prendere piede'
This phrase might just catch on.
Michelangelo, Picasso, The Beatles: they're some of history's most famous icons, but they all started out as relative unknowns.
And before they reached the heights of fame and critical acclaim there was a brief period where people were saying to their friends, "Hey you should listen to this record by this band called... I wanna say The Beetles? They're not bad!"
In other words, there was a moment in history when they were just catching on, taking off, becoming popular. In Italian you might say they were starting to prendere piede.
La loro musica ha appena iniziato a prendere piede.
Their music has just started to catch on.
È strano che le sue idee non abbiano mai preso piede negli stati uniti.
It’s odd that his ideas never took off in the US.
There's no dictionary explanation for exactly where this phrase originated, but it's perhaps most similar to the English expression "to gain a foothold", and we can surmise it might have the same premise.
It can also mean to 'take hold' or 'take root':
I principi della libertà e della giustizia non hanno mai preso piede lì.
The principals of freedom and justice have never taken root there.
The phrase is not to be confused with the similar-sounding prendere in contropiede: to wrong-foot someone, or catch them off guard.
Mi prende sempre in contropiede quando sto per segnare un gol.
He always wrongfoots me right as I’m about to score a goal.
Scusami, mi hai preso in contropiede!
Sorry, you caught me by surprise!
Try it out using prendere piede in a conversation today... who knows, maybe you'll popularise it.
Do you have an Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
Comments
See Also
Michelangelo, Picasso, The Beatles: they're some of history's most famous icons, but they all started out as relative unknowns.
And before they reached the heights of fame and critical acclaim there was a brief period where people were saying to their friends, "Hey you should listen to this record by this band called... I wanna say The Beetles? They're not bad!"
In other words, there was a moment in history when they were just catching on, taking off, becoming popular. In Italian you might say they were starting to prendere piede.
La loro musica ha appena iniziato a prendere piede.
Their music has just started to catch on.
È strano che le sue idee non abbiano mai preso piede negli stati uniti.
It’s odd that his ideas never took off in the US.
There's no dictionary explanation for exactly where this phrase originated, but it's perhaps most similar to the English expression "to gain a foothold", and we can surmise it might have the same premise.
It can also mean to 'take hold' or 'take root':
I principi della libertà e della giustizia non hanno mai preso piede lì.
The principals of freedom and justice have never taken root there.
The phrase is not to be confused with the similar-sounding prendere in contropiede: to wrong-foot someone, or catch them off guard.
Mi prende sempre in contropiede quando sto per segnare un gol.
He always wrongfoots me right as I’m about to score a goal.
Scusami, mi hai preso in contropiede!
Sorry, you caught me by surprise!
Try it out using prendere piede in a conversation today... who knows, maybe you'll popularise it.
Do you have an Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.