The Italian April Fool's Day has more fish than our celebrations in the USA. The tradition is to tape a paper fish to the back of an unsuspecting friend and then ask:
L'hai visto? (Have you seen him?)
Chi? (Who?)
Il pesce d'Aprile! (The April fish/fool!)
I know I'd rather receive a chocolate fish, or two:
Plan your next trip to Napoli in April
to try these chocolate fish by Gallucci
The Italian language has many fish jokes, fish chocolates and fish expressions. Here are a few great fish expressions in Italian from About.com (can you guess their literal meaning?):
buttarsi a pesce — to make a dive for, to begin an activity with enthusiasm
chi dorme non piglia pesce — the early bird catches the worm
i pesci grossi mangiano i piccini — the big fish eat the small fry
non sapere che pesci pigliare — to be at one's wits' end (or at a loss), not to know which way to turn
pesce grosso — bigwig, big shot
trattare a pesci in faccia — to mistreat, to humiliate
un pesce fuor d'acqua — a fish out of water
un pesce lesso — a boring person
For more on Pesce d'Aprile, watch an April Fool's joke in Italian, learn more joke-related vocabulary, and prepare fish-shaped cookies.
