Sanremo is underway and a Sardinian saying tells us that it is forbidden to sing at the table. But there are many ways of saying that concern singing and singing.

Here are some:

  • "Cantai s'alleluja ae unu" which from Sardinian into Italian means "to sing alleluja to someone". It's a saying used when someone scolds someone else in such solemn terms as to leave them speechless.
  • "Chen'e dinai no si càntat missa", i.e.: "Without money there is no mass". A way of saying that emphasizes the fact that any job must be paid.
  • "'Nci bòlit un'annu a ddu fai cantai e dèx'annus a ddu fai citiri" is a way of saying that is used for those shy people who speak little, but who never finish when they speak and in fact the translation is " it takes a year to make him sing and ten years to make him shut up".
  • "Chini pàpat e càntat, ciorbeddu dd'ammàncat" which translated means: "He who eats and sings lacks the brain", to make it clear that at the table one must behave with a certain decorum.
  • "A chini càntat in mesa, conca de pagu firmesa” (He who sings at the table has a head that doesn't work much)

Here the last two sayings combine dinner with singing just like Sanremo manages to combine music with the moment you sit down at the table after a long day. So don't sing while you're eating, Sardinian sayings say so.

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