Darsi la zappa sui piedi in Italian
| Literal translation | To give yourself the hoe on your feet |
| Meaning | To do something that causes trouble for yourself |
| IPA pronunciation | /ˈdarsi la ˈdzappa sui ˈpjɛːdi/ |
Darsi la zappa sui piedi
To shoot yourself in the foot
Where does this come from? Imagine a farmer who’s hoeing a field. He’s tired, or maybe he’s in a hurry. He makes a mistake and suddenly hits his foot with the hoe…
For example, you can say…
Accettando l’offerta, Enrico si è dato la zappa sui piedi.
By accepting the offer, Enrico shot himself in the foot.
➡️ Related lessons
- Dare (to give)
- Zappa (hoe)
- Piede (foot)
- Prepositions
- Definite articles
- Reflexive verbs
- All Italian expressions
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