On the Drive Home

{Before I begin, I take full blame.}

After a conversation about the word "stupido" verses the word "stupito" -- which put us in the "What does this word mean in English / Italian / French / Spanish ?" frame of mind. This conversation took place:

Maddy: Momma, how do you say "dammit" in Italiano?
Mr. Duncan (in his meanest, Mean Daddy voice): Maddy, don't say that word!
Maddy (innocently) : Daddy, I didn't say it, I only asked Momma how to say it in Italiano.
Me: Well, I'm really not sure how to say it in Italiano.
Maddy: Maybe we should ask. . .
Mr. Duncan & me simultaneously: No, no, no, no! Don't ask anyone!

. . . lest they know we use those words in our good home.

I could just see her asking her English teacher at the asilo, and the English teacher, never having learned the "bad words," flipping through her little pocket dictionary to look it up. Yeah. That would score us lots of points, I'm sure.

stupido = stupid
stupito = astonished
(I'll write later about how we learned the difference between these two similar words.)