a babbo morto

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “when the father dies”, referencing the necessity to wait for one's father's death to have the inheritance and pay off a debt. Other senses are either unrelated or evolved drastically from the original one.

Adverb

a babbo morto (originally Tuscany)

1. after a long period of time, never

   pagare a babbo morto ― to delay paying of a debt

2. in a lazy, unwilling manner

   Che fai lì a babbo morto?

   What are you doing there doing nothing?

3. without preparation, randomly

   È andato lì a babbo morto, non sapeva niente.

   He went there unprepared, not knowing anything.

See also

• babbomorto

Further reading

• Accademia della Crusca (2015) “Origine e significato dell'espressione a babbo morto”, in accademiadellacrusca.it‎^[1] (in Italian), archived from the original on 29 August 2022