dannarsi l'anima

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “to damn one's soul”.

Verb

dannàrsi l'anima (first-person singular present mi dànno l'anima, first-person singular past historic mi dannài l'anima, past participle dannàto l'anima)

1. (idiomatic) to work like hell; to do one's utmost

   Synonyms: darsi pena, fare l'impossibile

   • 2020, Barack Obama, chapter 22, in Chicca Galli, Paolo Lucca, Giuseppe Maugeri, transl., Una terra promessa [A Promised Land], Garzanti Libri:

     Dopotutto, anch’io mi ero dovuto dannare l'anima per convincere gli elettori americani che avesse senso spendere miliardi di dollari dei contribuenti per salvare le nostre banche e aiutare anche gli stranieri che vivevano nel nostro Paese a non vedersi pignorare la casa e a non perdere il lavoro.

     After all, I'd had a hell of a time trying to convince American voters that it made sense to spend billions of taxpayer dollars bailing out banks and helping strangers avoid foreclosure or job loss inside our own country.

     (literally, “After all, even I had had to work like hell to convince American voters that it made sense to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to save our banks and help even the strangers who lived in our country to not see their home foreclosed and to not lose their job.”)