The idiomatic phrase "Andare in vacca"

Hi, everybody! I am Luca and this epic video is aimed at those who study the Italian language and those who are learning Italian on their own. In other words, this is an Italian lesson for non-native speakers.

Specifically, this video is geared toward those who have already learned basic Italian and wish to improve their level by learning new useful phrases.

In this episode, in fact, I would like to explain an idiom which in my opinion is really, really nice. The idiomatic phrase which I'd like to explain is "andare in vacca".

This phrase is typically used with the third-person-singular, in the present or passato prossimo tense. That is, "va in vacca" or "sta andando in vacca", and "è andato/a in vacca".

You surely know the word "vacca". Let's say that the word "vacca" is a slightly more vulgar version of the word "mucca". In standard Italian we say "mucca". You can also say "vacca", but "vacca" is a slightly more colloquial, vulgar, informal term.

That being said, this idiom is related only up a point to the word "vacca" used as synonym for "mucca". Or rather, this idiom is only indirectly related to cows.

This phrase, in fact, has a very clear and well documented origin. We know for a fact where this idiom comes from. As you know, we usually don't know where certain phrases come from. Well, in this case we know for a fact where this idiom comes from.

This phrase, in fact, comes from the slang used by those who worked in the field of silk production.

As you know, silk is produced using small animals called "bachi". The singular form is "baco da seta" and the plural is "bachi da seta".

Well, thing is, sometimes silkworms get sick and start to become abnormally swollen. So they become swollen and kind of look like a cow or "vacca". Why? Because they become abnormally swollen. If that happens, silkworms are no longer productive. Meaning they stop producing silk.

Silkworms who get this disease are referred to as "vacche" by those who work in this field. So this is a slang term used by these people. Those who worked in this field used the phrase "andare in vacca" to refer to the silkworms who got sick and were no longer productive.

Like I said, the analogy is this. "Vacche", that is, cows, are big and swollen, right? And the silkworm is called "vacca" because it becomes swollen.

Afterwards, this slang phrase has become standard Italian.

In today's Italian, "andare in vacca" means ending badly, failing, degenerating. That is, if we speak abstractly.

But let's jump straight into some real-life examples!

For example, I could say: "La riunione è andata in vacca". What does it mean? The meeting ended badly. That is, it didn't go as people hoped it would go, but it ended badly.

For example, I could say: "Dopo la sua polemica, la riunione è andata in vacca". What does it mean? Somebody made a quarrelsome speech, that is, somebody complained about something. After that, the meeting, which up to that point was going well, "ha iniziato ad andare in vacca", that is, started to go downhill.

Another example could be: "La festa era iniziata bene, poi è andata in vacca". What does it mean? The party started well, then it started to degenerate. That is, to go downhill.

Another example could be: "Eravamo pronti per firmare il contratto, poi l'accordo è andato in vacca". Alternatively, I could simply say: "Eravamo d'accordo per firmare il contratto, poi è andato tutto in vacca".

In this case, what does "è andato in vacca" mean? It means that we were ready to sign the agreement, but then we didn't sign it, because the deal fell through. In Italian we say like this: "l'accordo è saltato", meaning it has been cancelled.

A similar example could be: "La nostra iniziativa è andata in vacca". What does it mean? We planned an initiative, we planned to do something. But we ended up not doing that, and everything fell through. That is, we didn't do what we planned to do. We aborted our initiative. We were forced to cancel the initiative.

Similarly, I could say: "Il mio progetto di andare tutti i giorni in palestra è andato in vacca". What does it mean? The project failed. Meaning that I planned to do this, that is, going everyday to the gym, this was my intention, but then in actual fact everything fell through. That is, I didn't go to the gym.

So we can use a noun - I gave you examples with a meeting, party, agreement - and next say "va in vacca", "è andato in vacca" or "è andata in vacca", right?

Or in general we can say "sta andando tutto in vacca". What does it mean? It means that the situation in general is degenerating. Degenerating means that it is gradually going down hill in an obvious way.

And so we can say "Sta andando tutto in vacca". What does it mean? The situation from here is going downhill, is degenerating, is getting worse and worse.

In particular, if we say "sta andando in vacca", it means that this process is well underway. In the sense that worsening has already reached an advanced stage.

For example, I could say: "Per il 2019 avevo tanti progetti, ma sta andando tutto in vacca". What does it mean? Everything is failing, degenerating, etc. Meaning that my projects are failing one after the other.

In this sense the idiomatic phrase "andare in vacca" is quite similar to two different Italian idioms. One is standard Italian, the other is a bit coarser.

Another standard Italian phrase is "andare a rotoli". For example, I could say "Sta andando tutto a rotoli". What does it mean? "Sta andando tutto in vacca". They mean the same.

There's also a slightly more colorful and coarse phrase, which is "Andare a pu...." - and I'm not gonna complete this sentence because I'm a gentleman. I'm sure you see what I mean. So, if I say "Sta andando tutto a pu...ne", it means that everything is going downhill. The situation is degenerating. So "andare a pu" is similar to "andare in vacca".

It should also be noted that we can also say "mandare qualcosa in vacca". For example, if we go back to the example I gave you earlier, I could say: "Il suo intervento ha mandato la riunione in vacca". What does it mean? After his speech, the meeting "è andata in vacca".

Or I could say: "La mia pigrizia sta mandando tutto in vacca".

Or: "Non fare questa cosa, rischi di mandare tutto in vacca". Well, sorry for the intonation! Sorry for the absurd intonation. Anyways, I'm sure you see what I mean.

Another example: "Se facciamo così, rischiamo di mandare tutto in vacca".

That is all with respect to the most common use of the phrase "andare in vacca".

I've seen that an online dictionary also describes another way of using this phrase in reference to people, that is, somebody "va in vacca", "sta andando in vacca".

Personally, I'm not familiar with this way of using this phrase, and I've never heard this phrase used this way. But I'm gonna tell you what I've read on the dictionary.

For example, if I say "Martina sta andando in vacca", what do I mean? I mean that she is not taking care of herself, she is not reacting like she should and in a way she is getting depressed. In the sense that she is listless, she doesn't do what she should do, she is very lazy - in a word, she does what we refer to by "si lascia andare", "si sta lasciando andare".

So a person who "sta andando in vacca" is the opposite of somebody who is full of desider to do something, full of energy, who lives life enthusiastically, right?

By contrast, somebody who "sta andando in vacca" is a passive person who no longer has that spark in their eyes. And who basically doesn't want to do anything. It's not a person who sets some goals for themselves, or who is involved in many activities, but it's a person who no longer wants to do anything, they lazy around and therefore live passively.

This is how the dictionary explains the phrase "andare in vacca" used in reference to people.

I for one, in my entire life, have never heard the idiom "andare in vacca" used this way. Like I said, I've always heard "lasciarsi andare", for example "Martina si sta lasciando andare".

Well, that's it! I hope everything is clear.

I'm gonna take my leave. Till next time!