The New York Knicks, a basketball team in the NBA, have named a new coach, Mike D'Antoni. For speakers of Italian, what's noteworthy about the announcement is that D'Antoni is fluent in Italian and holds dual citizenship. Equally fascinating is that D'Antoni was considered the greatest point guard in Italian league history. "He barely played in the N.B.A., but is now one of its best coaches," according to The New York Times.

Some common Italian basketball vocabulary words include: palleggio (dribble), tiro sospensione (jump shot), la linea del tiro libero (free throw line), schiacciata (dunk), guardia tiratrice (shooting guard), and difesa a zona (zone defense).

A recent interview in Time Out New York with high-profile chef Scott Conant featured this Italian phrase. The former chef of L’Impero and Alto discussed his new book and restaurant, both to be called Scarpetta. As Conant alludes to, the term fare la scarpetta describes the act of mopping up one’s plate with a piece of bread.

You can dip your "heel" at Conant's new restaurant in the meatpacking district this spring.