Common Italian expression
| Pronunciation | |
| Literal translation | Here a female cat is breeding |
| English translation | There’s something fishy going on |
| Meaning | There’s something hidden in here and it’s not right |
Example
| Le luci non dovrebbero essere spente. Qui gatta ci cova. | The lights should not be off. Something’s wrong here. |
Where does this idiom come from?
It is thought that this expression comes from the stance a cat takes when it is about to ambush its prey. It crouches down and attacks in complete silence.
Usually it’s the hens that brood (covano le uova)…
Related lessons
- covare (to brood)
- gatta (female cat)
- ci (adverb)
- qui (here)
- adverbs
- prepositions
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