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  3. Cinema, Film, TV, Drama

svaligiare la cassetta delle elemosine

English translation: break/break into your piggy bank

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Italian term or phrase:svaligiare la cassetta delle elemosine
English translation:break/break into your piggy bank
Entered by: Lorraine Buckley (X)

16:00 Jun 11, 2011
Italian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
Italian term or phrase: svaligiare la cassetta delle elemosine
Same film from the 70's. It's an Italian expression used when you pay or give your money to someone in small pieces, like 100 euros but in pieces of 10 or five. It's due to the fact that when you go to church or you give money to the poors you usually give small pieces, like a 1-euro coin or so.
Thanks!
bcambioni
Local time: 06:05
break your piggy bank
Explanation:
The English idiomatic equivalent - you save money by putting it in your piggy bank, and to pay for something you break it .... and out come all the coins
Selected response from:

Lorraine Buckley (X)
Italy
Local time: 06:05
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +6break your piggy bank
Lorraine Buckley (X)
5rob the poor box
EleoE
4pay in small change
Yvonne Gallagher
3 -1pay (out) in dribs and drabs
Shera Lyn Parpia


  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
pay (out) in dribs and drabs


Explanation:
in dribs and drabs - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus ...
in small amounts or a few at a time We could only afford to pay the builder in dribs and drabs. The hostages have been released in dribs and drabs. ...
idioms.thefreedictionary.com/in+dribs+and+drabs -

From Lynn Peterson: I overheard someone recently saying money was arriving in dribs and drabs. What is the origin of that phrase? Is it to do with art or painting?
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-dri1.htm


Shera Lyn Parpia
Italy
Local time: 06:05
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 21

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Lorraine Buckley (X): dribs and drabs means a little at a time, over a period of time, not in small change
24 mins
neutral  Barbara Carrara: This would rather translate the Italian 'a spizzichi e bocconi', though. Hiya Shera!
25 mins
neutral  EleoE: Agree with Barbara... spizzichi & bocconi.
30 mins
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
pay in small change


Explanation:
not using paper money but coins (which take longer to count out)

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Note added at 23 mins (2011-06-11 16:24:03 GMT)
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"pay in dribs and drabs" means paying at different times, e.g one week pay a bit, a bit more following week etc, not quite the context you've given here.

You could also use "LOOSE CHANGE"

27 Apr 2011 ... But the small change this 'gentleman from the streets' pressed into my hand enabled me to make a big difference in my situation. ...
www.colourtech.com/.../international-pay-it-forward-day-–-small-change-big-difference - Canada - Cached

Is it legal to pay a big debt in small change? March 6, 1981. Dear Cecil: My question concerns the term "legal tender." I remember reading years ago that ...
www.straightdope.com/.../is-it-legal-to-pay-a-big-debt-in-s... - Cached - Similar

26 Dec 2010 ... To assure oneself of a better paralegal salary, it is essential to have all the necessary elements in place. This generally equates to the ...
qualityarticles.com/paralegal-salary-more-than-small-change.htm

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Note added at 24 mins (2011-06-11 16:25:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

As far as I'm aware you can still pay in loose change as long as you count it into cash bags - the amounts go up depending on the denomination of the coin ...
www.youandyourwedding.co.uk/community/forums/thread/54771 - Cached

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 05:05
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
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38 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
break your piggy bank


Explanation:
The English idiomatic equivalent - you save money by putting it in your piggy bank, and to pay for something you break it .... and out come all the coins


    Reference: http://rinf.com/alt-news/contributions/don%E2%80%99t-break-y...
Lorraine Buckley (X)
Italy
Local time: 06:05
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Barbara Carrara: That'll do nicely. Ciao, L., tutto bene dalle tue parti? Bacio, bi / Tutto OK, grazie, pioggia compresa (non sono fanatica dell'estate). bi
19 mins
  -> Thanks, Barbara. Qui tutto bene se solo arrivasse l'estate...., anche da te, vero?
agree  Ivana UK: or 'break into your piggy bank' // dunno if it's more of a US thing or not but I have no US links whatsoever and I've always said 'break into' :)
20 mins
  -> Thanks, Ivana. Perhaps 'break into' a piggy bank is more US... to me it sounds like something a mini-me would do, dressed in black and wearing a mask!!
agree  Lara Barnett
1 hr
  -> thanks, Lara
agree  Daniela Zambrini
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Daniela
agree  tradu-grace
8 hrs
  -> thanks, Tradugrace
agree  James (Jim) Davis: With Ivana "break into your piggy bank". The logic might be right, but that is not what people say, at least in England. It is a "bank". http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=break in...
1 day 14 hrs
  -> thanks, Jim, tho' I would say you 'break' a piggy bank, (over 363000 ghits ), we obviously agree to disagree as both are used widely!
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48 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
rob the poor box


Explanation:
Si dice cosi'. :)

EleoE
Local time: 21:05
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian, Native in Serbo-CroatSerbo-Croat
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