Italian is a colorful language with many proverbs and unique idioms and expressions. You may be wondering what does “cercare il pello nell’ uovo” mean in Italian?
This is an interesting Italian saying or proverb that literally translates to search for a hair in an egg.
Italian vocabulary lesson
Cercare – the verb to look for, search, or seek
Pelo – hair
Capello – hair
Capelli – hair (this is heard more often)
Uovo – egg
Uova – eggs (plural)
Uovo is an exception to normally how you pluralize nouns. Normally the “O” ending will change to an “I”, but not in the case of “uovo”.
It’s interesting to note that by adding a “P” capello creates another word that may cause confusion to beginning students of Italian.
Cappello – hat
Cappelli – hats (plural)
The meaning of “Cercare il Pelo Nell’ Uovo”
Of course, you can spend all day looking for a hair inside an egg. And your efforts will lead you nowhere.
The saying is basically used to describe someone who is nitpicking or finds fault in everyone and everything. Someone who is a “Debbie Downer” can also be described as someone who always sees the glass half-empty.
This is similar to the Monday morning quarterbacks who complain about Tom Brady after he throws an interception. They are usually fat and overweight and can only lift a beer can, but still will find fault in everyone and everything.
It’s best not to be one of those guys.
We all have our bad days, but it’s always best to have an attitude of gratitude. There is always a silver lining in every cloud.
To summarize, that is the basic meaning of “cercare il pelo nell’ uovo” in Italian. In other words, don’t be a nitpicker or a Debbie Downer!
You may be interested in my online course to learn more Italian.
