Il Neologismo della Settimana
Monday January 5, 2009
A recent "neologism of the week" (newly coined word or phrase) featured in Il Grande Dizionario Garzanti di Italiano 2009 is the word astropsicologia. The feminine noun, a combination of the prefix astro- (referring to astronomy) and psicologia (psychology), has the following meaning: disciplina sperimentale che studia l’eventuale influsso degli astri sulla psiche umana e sul comportamento. In other words, an experimental discipline that studies the possible influence of the stars on the human pysche and behavior.
Comments
olio di serpente! M
Ciao marianna….che e olio di serpente
Snake oil. She was translating it literally into Italian. I tend to think that it doesn’t mean the same thing though - that is, there may be a term that Italians used metaphorically to any product with exaggerated marketing, but questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit - but not “olio di serpente.”
Maybe “unguento miracoloso”
idiomatic phrases & terms are rarely translatable from one language to another. i was just making a joke for italian speaking americans & didn’t realize there would be anyone who might read it w/o knowledge of the strictly american derogatory term. {hey, but i do love your unguento miracoloso}! M
P.S.>>>thanks for the explanation of the term so that non-americans would be able to “get” it. i hope aman will be amused.