In which I learn some new Italian words and discover that April Fools Day in Italy has something to with…fish?
Today in my weekly Italian lesson my teacher surprised me with a friendly pat on the back…odd, I thought to myself, before realizing that she had sneakily attached something to my shirt. I reached back and peeled off a small paper fish….but….why?
You’d think that by my fifth April 1st in Italy I would have at some point discovered that April Fool’s Day in Italy is called Il Pesce d’Aprile, but as it is, I guess I’ve been a fool…no wait, a fish? this whole time.
The primary scherzo (joke) here in Italy turns out to be the surreptitious placement of a small paper fish on someone’s back….why it is a fish remains a mystery to me and if anyone knows, do comment below!
The rest of the day’s stuppidaggine (nonsense) consists of the usual barzellette (jokes), battute (witticisms), and prendere in giro gli amici (making fun of friends).
To conclude, we have a video broadcast from April 1st, 1957 by a British television programme about the latest spaghetti harvest which inspired hundreds of viewers to call in asking for information on how they could grow their own spaghetti on trees.
I may not have known about the pesce d’Aprile but at least I know spaghetti doesn’t grow on trees like money does 😉
VOCABULARY LIST for the DAY:
Il Pesce d’Aprile: April Fools Day
uno scherzo : joke
una stuppidaggine : nonsense
una barzelletta : jokes
una battuta : witticisms
una bufala: a lie
prendere in giro : make fun of someone
