Merda!: The Real Italian You Were Never Taught in School

by Roland Delicio, Kim Wilson Brandt (Illustrator)

At last, a humorous, uncensored language guide to the colorful slang and rude colloquialisms that are so essential to a true understanding of everyday Italian. For the first time, all those words and phrases that were deemed off-color for the classroom are included in one volume.

Genres: Language, Humor, Nonfiction, Italian Literature, Reference

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

Reviews

[Candy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book on learning Italian curse words and slang is so full of profanity and a variety of truly offensive slurs (at least in their English translation) that it's on a need-to-know basis. I need to know because I live in a family where an Italian dialect is the first language, and it's so hard to pick up anything. Curses are part of the language. The book was hidden behind the encyclopedia books (where I found it today), and no one even knows how it got in the house. Needless to say, I read it cover to cover. My edition was from the 90s, so I wonder if some of the English translation words that were written as slurs have been edited in more recent editions.

[Aurora Shele · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's alright I guess. I bought it for a friend. My Italian is already good so I didn't learn anything new. It's not a bad idea either. It's whatever

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading this book I have only one thing to say to the author:
Sono stanca della tua bocca di merda
(page 19) although I would rather say bocca sporca

My grandparents spoke Italian on the phone, abroad, and the occasional phrase or expletive, and I never heard most of these (pretty crude + graphic) words. Ever. BTW they were not upper class people.

Either I led a sheltered life or things have really changed...

[False · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note: My book reviews aren't reviews. I own this book, but am preparing it for sale. Inherited. A humorous book with gutter Italian. In other words, the words and phrases you truly need to know.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

An Italian editor would have done it much good, loads of typos spoil the impression. To be honest, so do repetitive pompous intros to several last chapters.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is rich with language, wildly offensive and very funny. For anyone that has ever gained a modicum of mastery of a foreign language this, as the subtitle indicates is the real stuff you were never taught in school. If you want to know what to say to the waiter in a Roman restaurant who ignores you for 30 minutes because you’re an American, this is your book. The ripostes detailed here make the classic exchange between Winston Churchill and Bessie Braddock look tame by comparison:

Braddock: “Winston, You’re drunk!

Churchill: Bessie, you're ugly, and tomorrow morning I shall be sober"

The good news is that because the publisher is an equal opportunity offender there are similar publications in Spanish, French and likely other languages as well :-)

[StrangeBedfellows · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fun book, but not very functional. For the most part, you'll find phrases that, while humorous, don't really work too well in real-life situations. So consider this a book for comedic value, not an actual reference for "expanding" your Italian language skills.

[Heather T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dirty!