Word of the Day: Palle, and co.

Living/visting in Rome, you may not have picked up on phrases with the Italian word, ‘palle,’ but you probably have.

Palla is the Italian word for a ball, and in plural, palle. However, palle also means (pardon my Italian) balls, nuts, bullocks… There are a few phrases that make use of this second meaning of palle, to illustrate exasperation, mostly, ‘that sucks!’ 

Che palle!
‘Devo studiare per un’esame, quindi non posso uscire stasera. Che palle!’ – I need to study for a test, so I can’t go out tonight. This sucks!

Rompipalle
Coming from the Italian word, rompere, or to break, and palle, we get rompipalle. This one doesn’t need more explaining, it means a ball-breaker. Enough said.