fumare come un turco

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “to smoke like a Turk”. This expression is thought to date back to the 17^th century, referencing a drastic increase in tobacco use in Turkey following the death of Ottoman sultan Murad IV (1612–1640), who had imposed a strict, highly-unpopular ban on the smoking of tobacco.

Verb

fumàre come un turco (first-person singular present fùmo come un turco, first-person singular past historic fumài come un turco, past participle fumàto come un turco, auxiliary avére)

1. (informal, simile, intransitive) to smoke like a chimney (smoke tobacco frequently)

   Synonym: fumare come una ciminiera

   • 1864, “Babette d'Interlaken” (chapter 24), Parte II - Caratteri, in Fiori di racconti, descrizioni, costumi e caratteri tratti dalle opere del padre Antonio Bresciani, volume 3, Modena, Rome, Venice: Giovanni Bencivenga; Gio[vanni] Battista Merlo, page 244:

     Bestemmiava come un radicale, trincava come un argoviano, fumava come un turco, tirava la carabina come un bersagliere, maneggiava il pugnale come uno schermitore.

     She [Babette of Interlaken] swore like a pagan, drank like a fish, smoked like a chimney, used a carbine like a sharpshooter, [and] handled a knife like a swordsman.

     (literally, “She used to swear like a radical, drink like an Argovian, smoke like a Turk, shoot the carbine like a sharpshooter, handle a knife like a swordsman.”)

   • 1908, Olindo Guerrini, “L'ultimo amore”, in Brani di vita‎^[1]; republished Bologna: Zanichelli, 1917, page 24:

     Fumavo come un turco, bevevo come un tedesco, merendavo nei suburbi con vergini eterodosse come un francese; insomma galoppavo come un puledro cui si allenti la briglia.

     I was smoking like a chimney, drinking like a fish, having picnics in the suburbs together with unorthodox virgins like a Frenchman; I was galloping like a foal with its reins loose.

   • 1923, Italo Svevo, “Fumo”, in La coscienza di Zeno; republished, Dall'Oglio editore, 1976:

     M’ero dimostrato poco idoneo alla chimica anche per la mia deficienza di abilità manuale. Come avrei potuto averla quando continuavo a fumare come un turco?

     I proved to be ill-suited for chemistry, also because of my lack of manual ability. How could I have had it, when I kept on smoking like a chimney?

Conjugation

• see: fumare