Common Italian expression
| Pronunciation | |
| Literal translation | To cut the rope |
| English translation | To sneak away quickly |
| Meaning | To leave quickly or to run away |
Examples
| Non appena ha rotto il vaso, Marco ha tagliato la corda. | As soon as he broke the pot, Marco snuck away. |
| Abbiamo tagliato la corda prima che arrivasse la polizia. | We ran away before the police arrived. |
Where does this idiom come from?
Ships are tied to the dock with ropes. When you cut the rope, you’ll sail away. This is why the act of cutting a rope is used in Italian to mean “to run away”.
Related lessons
- tagliare (to cut)
- corda (rope)
- definite articles
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