lingasms:

feyna-v:

In Italian, when somebody lends you something he will often say “Si chiama Pietro.” (Its name is Pietro) because it rhymes with “Torna indietro.” (It comes back, with the meaning of ‘I want it back’).

I was wondering, does something similar happen in English too? Like, “It’s called Jack” or something?

I’ve been using my ‘home-made’ translation of it as “It’s called Jack and it’s coming back” for years now! Always delivered with a smile, since a lot of Italian idioms are a little confrontational when translated outside of their cultural context: ”Patti chiari, amicizia lunga” comes to mind.