Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: To lose it

Esiste l'espressione "to lose it" per dire "lo lose one's patience"?
Un giornale [Standard Lite] titolava qualche giorno fa "Charlotte loses it
at karaoke" e il senso mi sembra appunto quello di perdere la pazienza.
grazie, Lorenzo
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Inviato via 
http://arianna.libero.it/usenet/

 at karaoke" e il senso mi sembra appunto quello di perdere la pazienza.
Yes, it exists.  It means "to become very angry"
Non solo significa perdere la pazienza, ma significa anche "to break
down".  In altre parole, significa perdere il lume della ragione a
causa di un avvenimento particolarmente tragico.  I can't really
explain it to you, but I can give you examples:
He really lost it when he found out that his wife had also died in the
accident.
He really lost it when they told him that his house had been distroyed
by the blaze.
bye
ari

 explain it to you, but I can give you examples:
[...]
grazie mille per l'esauriente spiegazione!
in ogni modo nel mio caso l'espressione è usata in una circostanza non certo
tragica ma decisamente frivola: la cantante Charlotte Church [ho cercato su
wikipedia per sapere chi è] ha dato in escandescenze con il suo fidanzato in
un bar a Londra...
Questo è l'inizio: "Was it something he sang? Charlotte Church did little to
shake off her high-maintenance tag as she drunkenly let rip at boyfriend
Gavin Henson outside a karaoke club last night. [...]"
Già che ci siamo... cosa vuol dire in questo caso "high-maintenance tag" ?
In un primo tempo avevo pensato a "maintenance" come a "alimenti" (che si
devono pagare al coniuge separato) e "tag" come a "price tag" ma non ne sono
affatto sicuro ora...
grazie mille


 Lorenzo
E' un po' difficile da spiegare, ma ci provo.
High-maintenance significa che una certa cosa/oggetto o anche persona
e' difficile o caro da "mantenere".  Non mi viene in mente un vocabolo
migliore in italiano.
Per esempio, suppongo che la Ferrari sia piu' high-maintenance della
Toyota che e' very low-maintenance (I have one), non solo a riguardo
del costo, ma anche per la frequenza di visite al meccanico.  Un front
yard  con l'erba e' piu' high-maintenance di un front yard che ha
ghiaia.  Ci devi lavorare di piu' per mantenerlo.
People can also be high-maintenance or low-maintenance.  For example
some girlfriends are low maintenance.  That means you don't need to do
a whole lot for them.  Some girls are high-maintenance.  That means you
need to do things for them and sometimnes take care of their problems.
So you bring them flowers, tell them that they are beautiful, be nice
to them, give them gifts, help them out when they need help...all of
this to keep them happy.  Employees can also be high-maintenance or
low-maintenance.  High maintenance employees are those who are always
in need of something.  They need to talk to the boss, they need
supplies, they need someone to cover for them, etc....
About your sentence... I take it to mean that this person is known to
be someone who expects people to do things for her and whatever she
expects from others is not cheap!  The word "tag" together with
High-maintenance could have something to do with the cost.  Now that I
think of it, it could also be a synonym for "stigma".
Sorry I can't explain it more clearly.
bye
ari

 explain it to you, but I can give you examples:
Anche "Non essere bravo come una volta".
"Terry Pratchett has completely lost it: "Going Postal" isn't anywhere
near as good as previous Discworld books".


Yes, that too.  
ari

 Sorry I can't explain it more clearly.
 
Uau, grazie per la spiegazione, mi sembra tutto chiaro ora!
Tanto per esaurire definitivamente questo articolaccio di pettegolezzi (che,
detto per inciso, mi ha messo molto piu' in difficolta' di un testo
letterario) c'è questa frase che non capisco:
"[...]. Afterwards, they moved on to the Lucky Voice karaoke club in Poland
Street by which time all were looking the worse for wear."
significa che sembravano ubriachi?



ehm, mi sono dimenticato ancora un'altra cosa...
"The Welsh rugby star, who looks as though he has had a drink spilt down his
shirt, received the hairdryer treatment on a staircase outside the club
before friends bundled them both into a cab."
Questo "hairdryer treatment" cosa significa??? lavata di capo? sembra che
sia un termine usato in ambito calcistico ma non ho capito bene cosa
significhi....



Mi rispondo da solo. Ho fatto una ricerca con google e sembra che questa
espressione abbia origine dall'allenatore (del Manchester United credo --
non seguo il calcio) Sir Alex Ferguson ("Fergie"). Queste due citazioni
spiegano l'espressione:
" In sports, more than in most businesses, the management tactics are
out in the open for all to see. Sir Alex uses the "hairdryer"
treatment on his players: he stands so close when he bawls at them
that his angry breath blows their hair."
"McGhee, who witnessed one outburst while a player under Ferguson at
Aberdeen, said: "A lot of players have had 'the hairdryer' off Alex — he
really blasts you." "
A mo' di esempio, queste sono due altre citazioni che usano l'espressione:
"Sir Alex Ferguson sympathises with the intrusion Wayne Rooney will have to
put up with now he has joined Manchester United - but that will not stop the
striker getting the hairdryer treatment if he falls foul of the Manchester
United manager's strict disciplinary code."
"G. Neville deserves the hairdryer treatment for that blunder that led to
Arse's first. "
Probabilmente l'espressione si è ora diffusa in ambienti non-calcistici (mi
domando pero' se sia generalmente conosciuta).
