Italian expression of the day: 'A bruciapelo'
We're going to give it to you point blank.
If you regularly read the cronache sections of your newspaper or watch Italian murder mystery shows, before long you'll encounter the phrase a bruciapelo: 'at point blank range'.
Literally, a bruciapelo means 'to burn the body hair/fur', referring to hunters shooting animals at such close range that the gunshot scorched their hide.
You'll often hear the phrase used in descriptions of crime scenes:
L'autista e il passeggero sono stati colpiti a bruciapelo.
The driver and the passenger were shot at point blank range.
Gli ha sparato a bruciapelo con una pistola nascosta nell'armadio.
She shot him at point blank range with a gun hidden in the wardrobe.
Gli ho chiesto a bruciapelo se qualcosa non andava.
I asked him point blank if something was wrong.
Il mio capo mi ha chiesto a bruciapelo se avessi fatto domanda per un lavoro altrove.
My boss asked me outright if I'd applied for a job somewhere else.
A little beyond the capabilities of 'point-blank', a bruciapelo can also mean something more like 'out of the blue' or 'all of a sudden'.
La domanda a bruciapelo mi ha preso alla sprovvista.
The unexpected question caught me off guard.
Mi ha dato la notizia a bruciapelo senza nemmeno avvertirmi di sedermi prima
She broke the news to me out of the blue without even warning me to sit down first.
Hopefully the next time you find yourself in an encounter a bruciapelo, you manage to dodge the bullet.
Is there an Italian word of expression you'd like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
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If you regularly read the cronache sections of your newspaper or watch Italian murder mystery shows, before long you'll encounter the phrase a bruciapelo: 'at point blank range'.
Literally, a bruciapelo means 'to burn the body hair/fur', referring to hunters shooting animals at such close range that the gunshot scorched their hide.
You'll often hear the phrase used in descriptions of crime scenes:
L'autista e il passeggero sono stati colpiti a bruciapelo.
The driver and the passenger were shot at point blank range.
Gli ha sparato a bruciapelo con una pistola nascosta nell'armadio.
She shot him at point blank range with a gun hidden in the wardrobe.
Gli ho chiesto a bruciapelo se qualcosa non andava.
I asked him point blank if something was wrong.
Il mio capo mi ha chiesto a bruciapelo se avessi fatto domanda per un lavoro altrove.
My boss asked me outright if I'd applied for a job somewhere else.
A little beyond the capabilities of 'point-blank', a bruciapelo can also mean something more like 'out of the blue' or 'all of a sudden'.
La domanda a bruciapelo mi ha preso alla sprovvista.
The unexpected question caught me off guard.
Mi ha dato la notizia a bruciapelo senza nemmeno avvertirmi di sedermi prima
She broke the news to me out of the blue without even warning me to sit down first.
Is there an Italian word of expression you'd like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.
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