Italian idiomatic phrases with colors

In Italian there are many idiomatic phrases related to colors.

This podcast is dedicated to idioms with the word "bianco". In this Italian video lesson I explain 8 phrases related to the color white.

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That being said, let's jump straight into the first phrase with the color white!

The first phrase I wanted to discuss is: "dare carta bianca a qualcuno".

I'll give you an example right away!

"Posso fare come voglio, il direttore mi ha dato carta bianca".

Another example could be: "Decidi tu come procedere, ti do carta bianca".

The phrase "dare carta bianca" literally means giving someone a blank sheet of paper with our signature on it.

For example, this is a "white" sheet of paper, I say "white" because it's blank, with my signature on it.

There is nothing written on it and one can write what they want. Given that my signature is already there,  it means that I will accept everything. In other words, it's like an agreement that I have already accepted before it was even written.

That's the literal meaning.

Figuratively, "dare carta bianca" means authorizing someone to act as they prefer. If I give someone "carta bianca", I tell them that they can act or step in as they prefer, that is, I don't set any limits or restrictions.

But let's move on to the second idiom!

The second phrase with the adjective "bianco" is related to the first one and is: "avere carta bianca".

If someone gives me "carta bianca" with respect to a given issue, I can say "ho carta bianca", meaning that I can decide how to act.

An example could be: "The director only wants that I solve the problem, he doesn't care how. Ho carta bianca".

Let's move on to the third idiomatic expression!

The third idiom I'd like to explain is: "passare la notte in bianco".

An example sentence could be: "Ieri ho passato la notte in bianco". My neighbours gave a party and made much noise. I couldn't sleep.

Another example could be: "I'm dead tired. The neighbours' child cried all night long. Ho passato la notte in bianco".

As you can see from these examples, "passare la notte in bianco" means spending the night awake.

I don't know if you know the phrase "non chiudere occhio". Well, the phrase "passare la notte in bianco" is similar in meaning to the phrase "non chiudere occhio". I can say "Ho passato la notte in bianco" or "Non ho chiuso occhio". What does it mean? I didn't sleep.

The origin of this idiom is quite interesting and is related to a medieval tradition.

The night before the cerimony which would make him a knight, the aspiring night had to stay awake and wear a completely white surcoat. This coat was a symbol of purity. So, the night before the investiture cerimony, the applicant, that is, the aspiring knight, had to stay awake while wearing such white surcoat.

And the idiom "passare la notte in bianco" comes from this tradition.

But let's see the fourth idiomatic expression!

The fourth Italian idiom I wanted to explain is: "diventare bianco come un cencio".

If you are wondering what "cencio" means, this one is called "cencio".  So the word "cencio" is a synonym of "strofinaccio" or "straccio".  It's the object used to clean the kitchen. Well, back in the day these objects, "i cenci", were white and for this reason people say "bianco come un cencio".

I'll give you an example right away! "When he found out how much he should pay, Mar..." - sweet Christmas the train!

"When he found out how much he should pay, Marco è diventato bianco come un cencio".

What does it mean? He went pale all of a sudden. In other words, Marco got scared and his face turned "white" all of a sudden.

I don't know if you know the verb "impallidire". Well, I can say "Marco è impallidito" or I can say "Marco è diventato bianco come un cencio".

If you want, instead of the verb "diventare", you can use the reflexive verb "farsi". My sentence will become: "When he found out how much he should pay, Marco si è fatto bianco come un cencio".

However, please pay attention to the adjective, with this phrase. The adjective should agree.

In my example, the subject was Marco, therefore I said "si è fatto bianco come un cencio". Or "è diventato bianco come un cencio".

If the subject is Elisa, I should say "si è fatta bianca come un cencio" or "è diventata bianca come un cencio". So I should use a feminine singular adjective.

But let's move on to the fifth Italian idiom!

The fifth idiomatic phrase with the adjective "bianco" I wanted to discuss is: "andare in bianco".

What does it mean? Generally speaking, it means not achieving one's goal or not getting what one hoped for. I would say, though, that this phrase is typically used in reference to a specific situation.

For example, when a guy invites a woman out, for example for dinner or for a drink. And at the end of the night this guy quite possibly hopes to get something. I'm not gonna tell you what, because you can guess what.

Well, if the guy doesn't get what he hoped he would get, we can say "è andato in bianco".

An example sentence could be: "Yesterday Luca went out with a woman he met on Tinder, but è andato in bianco".

Well, I hope it's clear what it means. I'm not gonna go into details, because I'm a gentleman.

But let's move on to the sixth expression!

The sixth idiomatic expression is related to the previous one and is: "mandare qualcuno in bianco", or "mandare in bianco qualcuno".

Basically, one "va in bianco" because another person "manda in bianco" them. If a woman "manda un ragazzo in bianco", we can say that this guy "è andato in bianco". Basically, these two idioms, "mandare in bianco" and "andare in bianco", refer to the two different roles in the same event.

Let's see the seventh idiomatic phrase!

The seventh Italian idiom I wanted to explain is: "mangiare in bianco".

This idiomatic phrase is very easy to explain and it essentially means eating plain food, in particular with no tomato sauce or similar condiments.

The reference is clearly to pasta, right? which is typically dressed with tomato sauce. When you add tomato, pasta will turn red, so to speak. By contrast, if you don't add any sauce, pasta will stay white, so to speak, therefore in Italian we say "mangiare in bianco".

People usually do that when they are sick. If someone is sick, they "mangia in bianco" and don't add tomato sauce, but for example add just some butter and cheese.

But let's move on to the last idiomatic phrase!

The last Italian expression I wanted to discuss is: "presentare il compito in bianco".

For example: "Luigi didn't study for the exam and ha presentato il compito in bianco".

What does it mean? It means that on the exam sheet he didn't write anything.

For example, let's pretend that this were the exam paper. Luigi should write his name and the answers to the exam questions. But, say, he wrote just his name here and handed off such blank sheet, that is, without writing anything.

Well, I think this idiom is quite clear.

Well, I hope you liked these eight idiomatic expressions related to colors!

If you like Italian idiomatic phrases and sayings, up here I'm gonna add my playlist about the most common expressions.

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