Cranford — Page 6

English → It CHAPTER I. Level 7/10

Moreover, it was considered "vulgar" (a tremendous word in Cranford) to give anything expensive, in the way of eatable or drinkable, at the evening entertainments.

Inoltre, era considerato "volgare" (una parola tremenda a Cranford) dare qualcosa di costoso, in fatto di cibi o bevande, durante i trattenimenti serali.

Wafer bread-and-butter and sponge-biscuits were all that the Honourable Mrs Jamieson gave; and she was sister-in-law to the late Earl of Glenmire, although she did practise such "elegant economy."

Sottili fette di pane e burro e biscotti di pan di Spagna erano tutto ciò che l'onorevole signora Jamieson offriva; eppure era cognata del defunto conte di Glenmire, benché praticasse una tale "elegante economia".

"Elegant economy!" How naturally one falls back into the phraseology of Cranford!

"Elegante economia!" Come naturalmente si ricade nella fraseologia di Cranford!

There, economy was always "elegant," and money-spending always "vulgar and ostentatious"; a sort of sour-grapeism which made us very peaceful and satisfied.

Là, l'economia era sempre "elegante", e lo spendere denaro sempre "volgare e ostentato"; una sorta di filosofia dell'uva acerba che ci rendeva molto tranquilli e soddisfatti.

I never shall forget the dismay felt when a certain Captain Brown came to live at Cranford, and openly spoke about his being poor—not in a whisper to an intimate friend, the doors and windows being previously closed, but in the public street! in a loud military voice! alleging his poverty as a reason for not taking a particular house.

Non dimenticherò mai lo sgomento provato quando un certo capitano Brown venne ad abitare a Cranford, e parlò apertamente della propria povertà — non sottovoce a un amico intimo, con porte e finestre precedentemente chiuse, ma in piena strada pubblica! con una voce militare sonora! adducendo la sua povertà come ragione per non prendere una certa casa.

The ladies of Cranford were already rather moaning over the invasion of their territories by a man and a gentleman.

Le signore di Cranford si lamentavano già abbastanza per l'invasione dei loro territori da parte di un uomo e gentiluomo.

He was a half-pay captain, and had obtained some situation on a neighbouring railroad, which had been vehemently petitioned against by the little town; and if, in addition to his masculine gender, and his connection with the obnoxious railroad, he was so brazen as to talk of being poor—why, then, indeed, he must be sent to Coventry.

Era un capitano a mezzo soldo, e aveva ottenuto un qualche impiego presso una ferrovia vicina, contro la quale la piccola città aveva presentato veementi petizioni; e se, oltre al suo genere maschile e alla sua connessione con la detestabile ferrovia, aveva la sfrontatezza di parlare di essere povero — ebbene, allora, davvero, bisognava metterlo al bando.

Death was as true and as common as poverty; yet people never spoke about that, loud out in the streets.

La morte era tanto reale e comune quanto la povertà; eppure la gente non ne parlava mai ad alta voce per le strade.

Vocabulary

Inoltre: Furthermore; used to add additional information.
era: Was; third person singular imperfect of essere.
considerato: Considered; regarded as having a certain quality.
volgare: Vulgar; crude, common, or lacking refinement.
parola: Word; a unit of spoken or written language.
tremenda: Tremendous; terrible or extremely shocking in nature.
dare: To give; infinitive verb meaning to present something.
qualcosa: Something; an unspecified thing or object.
costoso: Expensive; having a high monetary cost.
fatto: Fact; also past participle of fare meaning done.
cibi: Foods; plural of cibo, edible items consumed as meals.
bevande: Drinks; plural noun referring to liquid refreshments.
durante: During; preposition indicating time within an event.
trattenimenti: Entertainments; social gatherings or evening events.
serali: Evening; adjective describing things occurring in the evening.
Sottili: Thin; slim or delicate in shape or thickness.
fette: Slices; plural of fetta, thin cut pieces of food.
pane: Bread; common baked staple food made from flour.
burro: Butter; dairy fat spread used on bread or cooking.
biscotti: Biscuits/cookies; small baked sweet or dry snacks.
Spagna: Spain; also used in pan di Spagna meaning sponge cake.
erano: Were; third person plural imperfect of essere.
tutto: Everything/all; indicating the totality of something.
ciò: That/this; demonstrative pronoun referring to a thing.
onorevole: Honorable; deserving of respect and high esteem.
signora: Mrs./madam; polite title for an adult woman.
offriva: Offered; imperfect tense of offrire, to offer something.
eppure: Yet/and yet; conjunction expressing contrast or surprise.
cognata: Sister-in-law; spouse's sister or sibling's wife.
defunto: Deceased; referring to someone who has died.
conte: Count; a nobleman of European aristocratic rank.
benché: Although; conjunction introducing a concessive clause.
praticasse: Practiced; imperfect subjunctive of praticare, to practice.
tale: Such; adjective indicating a particular kind or quality.
elegante: Elegant; graceful, refined, and stylish in appearance.
economia: Economy/thrift; careful management of money or resources.
Elegante: Elegant; graceful and refined, used here ironically.
Come: How; adverb used in exclamations or questions.
naturalmente: Naturally; of course, in an expected or obvious way.
ricade: Falls back; one relapses or reverts to something.
fraseologia: Phraseology; the particular manner of expressing ideas in words.
Là: There; adverb indicating a place away from the speaker.
sempre: Always; at all times without exception.
spendere: To spend; infinitive meaning to use money on something.
denaro: Money; currency used for buying goods or services.
ostentato: Ostentatious; showy spending meant to impress others.
sorta: Sort/kind; a type or variety of something.
filosofia: Philosophy; a system of beliefs or guiding principles.
uva: Grapes; small sweet fruit grown in clusters on vines.
acerba: Unripe/sour; not yet mature, referring to sour grapes.
rendeva: Made/rendered; imperfect of rendere, to make something.
molto: Very/much; adverb intensifying adjectives or verbs.
tranquilli: Calm/tranquil; peaceful and undisturbed in a state.
soddisfatti: Satisfied; content and pleased with a situation.
dimenticherò: I will forget; future tense of dimenticare, to forget.
mai: Never/ever; adverb expressing absolute negation of time.
sgomento: Dismay; a feeling of shock and distress or alarm.
provato: Felt/experienced; past participle of provare, to feel.
quando: When; conjunction or adverb indicating a time reference.
certo: Certain/a certain; indicating a specific but unnamed person.
capitano: Captain; a military officer of a specific rank.
venne: Came; third person singular past absolute of venire.
abitare: To live; to reside or dwell in a place.
parlò: Spoke; third person singular past absolute of parlare.
apertamente: Openly; in a frank and unconcealed manner.
propria: Own; adjective indicating something belonging to oneself.
povertà: Poverty; the state of being extremely poor financially.
sottovoce: In a low voice; speaking quietly or in an undertone.
amico: Friend; a person with whom one has a close bond.
intimo: Intimate; very close and trusted, as a dear friend.
porte: Doors; plural of porta, movable barrier closing an entrance.
finestre: Windows; plural of finestra, openings in a wall for light.
precedentemente: Previously; at an earlier time before the current moment.
chiuse: Closed; shut, referring to doors or windows being shut.
piena: Full/middle; adjective meaning in the middle of something.
strada: Street/road; a public road in a town or city.
pubblica: Public; accessible to or shared by all people.
voce: Voice; the sound produced by a person when speaking.
militare: Military; relating to the armed forces or a soldier.
sonora: Loud/resonant; producing a full and rich sound.
adducendo: Citing/adducing; presenting something as a reason or evidence.
come: As/like/how; versatile conjunction or adverb in Italian.
ragione: Reason; a cause or justification for an action.
prendere: To take; to take hold of or select something.
certa: A certain; indicating a specific but unnamed feminine noun.
casa: House/home; a building where people live.
signore: Ladies; plural of signora, polite term for women.
lamentavano: Complained/lamented; imperfect of lamentarsi, to complain.
già: Already; indicating something has happened before expected.
abbastanza: Enough/quite; indicating a sufficient degree of something.
invasione: Invasion; an intrusion into someone's territory or space.
territori: Territories; areas of land under someone's control or influence.
parte: Part/side; a portion or the side of someone.
uomo: Man; an adult male human being.
gentiluomo: Gentleman; a man of refined manners and good breeding.
Era: Was; third person singular imperfect of essere.
mezzo: Half; indicating one of two equal parts of something.
soldo: Penny/coin; a small unit of money, half-pay soldier.
aveva: Had; third person singular imperfect of avere.
ottenuto: Obtained; past participle of ottenere, to obtain something.
qualche: Some/a few; indefinite adjective indicating an unspecified amount.
impiego: Employment/job; a position of paid work or occupation.
presso: Near/at; preposition meaning close to or with an organization.
ferrovia: Railway; a track system for trains to travel on.
vicina: Nearby/neighboring; close in distance to something.
contro: Against; preposition expressing opposition or resistance.
quale: Which; relative pronoun or interrogative adjective.
piccola: Small/little; adjective describing something of small size.
città: City/town; an urban settlement of significant population.
presentato: Presented/submitted; past participle of presentare, to present.
veementi: Vehement; forceful and passionate in expression or feeling.
petizioni: Petitions; formal written requests submitted to an authority.
se: If; conjunction introducing a conditional clause.
oltre: Besides/beyond; in addition to something already mentioned.
genere: Gender/kind; the sex or type of a person or thing.
maschile: Masculine/male; relating to or characteristic of men.
connessione: Connection; a relationship or link between two things.
detestabile: Detestable; extremely unpleasant and deserving strong hatred.
sfrontatezza: Impudence/nerve; rude boldness or shameless audacity.
parlare: To speak; infinitive verb meaning to talk or converse.
essere: To be; fundamental Italian infinitive verb of existence.
povero: Poor; lacking money or material possessions.
ebbene: Well then; conjunction expressing a conclusion or consequence.
allora: Then/so; adverb indicating time or logical consequence.
davvero: Really/truly; adverb emphasizing truth or sincerity.
bisognava: It was necessary; impersonal imperfect of bisognare.
metterlo: To put him; infinitive with clitic pronoun, to ban him.
bando: Ban/exile; exclusion or banishment from a community.
morte: Death; the end of life for a living being.
tanto: So much/as much; adverb indicating degree or quantity.
reale: Real/royal; existing in reality, not imaginary.
comune: Common; shared by many or ordinary in occurrence.
quanto: As much as/how much; expressing degree or comparison.
gente: People; a group of persons in general.
ne: Of it/about it; partitive pronoun replacing a noun phrase.
parlava: Spoke/talked; imperfect of parlare, to speak habitually.
alta: Aloud/high; loudly or at a high volume or position.
strade: Streets; plural of strada, public roads in a town.

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