Have you ever wonder why Italians say In bocca al lupo! to wish you luck? What does a mouth of a wolf have to do with my luck? And, above all, why do I have to be in its mouth to be lucky? Well, today we are going to see some of my favorite expressions in Italian, and they all have to deal with the word, or maybe I should say the animal, lupo – “wolf.” Let’s take a look!

Generally speaking the word lupo deals with something terrible, dangerous, a voracious animal. You’d say “who knew!” I know this is nothing new, but it is really important to be reminded of to better understand the meaning of some of the following expressions and sayings.

Let’s start with Tempo da lupi – Wolves’ weather: it is an expression to indicate very very bad weather. I don’t mean simply an annoying rainy afternoon, but more like a black sky with thunder, lightning, and huge heavy clouds that are threatening to pour all the water on the Earth on your town on a Summery Sunday afternoon. Then, you are allowed to say: Che tempo da lupi!  

Lupo in veste d’agnello – a wolf in sheep’s clothing – is used to indicate a treacherous and dangerous person who hides evil deeds behind a friendly, sweet face. It can actually be traced back to Mathew’s Gospel, but it was a saying that was already widely spread in Hebrew literature. Not a surprise! Bad people have always been around. Or mettere il lupo nell’ovile – to place the wolf in the hen house - means to place someone in a position of great power and that allows them to easily hurt others, as a wolf can in a hen house.

On a lighter note, but still looking at the negative aspects portrayed by wolves, there’s Il lupo perde il pelo ma non il vizio – the wolf loses its fur but not the vice (variations are: Il lupo cambia il dente ma non la mente – the wolf changes its teeth but not its mind, and Chi nasce lupo non muore agnello – Those who are born wolves cannot die as lambs) meaning that it is basically impossible to get rid of old bad habits and to an extent that people never really change.

Or Chi ha il lupo per vicino, si porti il cane sotto il mantello – those who have the wolf as a neighbor, must keep the dog under their cloak – meaning that those who know they are in danger must be ready to defend themselves. Chi pecora si fa lupo se lo mangia – those who become sheep, the wolf eats them – meaning that if you act too submissively and compliantly, others will take advantage on you or use you. It is used to blame the victims because they create their own situation with their behavior.

But it is not always so tragic! Wolves can also remind of brighter characteristics. Avere una fame da lupo – to have a wolf’s hunger – is used when people are really hungry. Il lupo sogna le pecore e la volpe le galline – the wolf dreams of sheep and the fox of hens – is used to imply that you should follow your heart because it never fails to indicate the right path. A lupo di mare – a sea wolf – it’s a sea dog, meaning an old or experienced sailor. Not sure why in Italian it’s a wolf and in English a dog, but it’s a canine figure anyway.

Lupus in fabula (Italians love Latin sayings!) is used when you are talking about someone that is not there and then suddenly they appear. It basically has the same meaning of parlando del diavolo (spuntan le corna) – speaking of the devil (and the horns sprout). And our famous In bocca al lupo! – In the wolf’s mouth – translating to “break a leg” or “good luck.” No one really knows why Italians use it, there are many theories that involve, shepherds, courage and Romulo and Remo, the founders of Rome, but there are no doubts on the correct answer to give: crepi! – Die! Yes! Because it doesn’t matter if it means good luck, no one wants to end up in the mouth of a wolf! So it must die so it can’t eat me.

And so we get to Gridare al lupo! but to explain this I’d like to tell a little story. “A shepherd-boy, who watched a flock of sheep near a village, brought out the villagers three or four times by crying out, "Wolf! Wolf!" What? You know the story? Of course I am talking about “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”! But for those who for some reason never herd this saying, it means that no one ever believes those who always tell lies. Not even when they tell the truth for ones. And maybe I should be careful. I did not cry it, but I did use the word “wolf” several times in this article. I better end it here if I don’t want to become “the girl who cried wolf too many times.”

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