What does “Fare il finto tonto” mean?
Fare il finto tonto
Word for word
To play the fake fool
What it really means
To pretend you did not understand, to duck an obligation or an awkward question. Used for someone being deliberately obtuse.
How we say it in English
To play dumb
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Create a free accountOther Italian idioms
Toccare ferro
To knock on wood — but note Italians reach for iron, not wood
Acqua in bocca!
Mum's the word! — or keep it under your hat
Fare le ore piccole
To stay up into the small hours — English uses the very same phrase for those hours
Cercare il pelo nell'uovo
To split hairs — English lands on the same hair, from the other direction
Chi dorme non piglia pesci
The early bird catches the worm
In bocca al lupo
Break a leg — and, like "break a leg", you never answer with "thank you"