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(collocare, porre) to put(irregular), to place, to set(irregular) [oggetto]; ~ i piatti in tavola to put the plates on the table; ~ una tovaglia to put on a tablecloth; ti ho messo le lenzuola pulite I’ve changed the sheets for you; ~ i piedi sul tavolo to put one’s feet on the table; ~ le mani in tasca to put one’s hands in one’s pockets; ~ la biancheria ad asciugare to put the washing out to dry; ~ un annuncio sul giornale to place an advertisement in the paper; ~ giù (il ricevitore) to hang up, to put down the receiver, to ring off BE
(indossare) to put(irregular) on, to wear(irregular) [abito, gioiello];
to put(irregular) on [crema, rossetto]; non metto mai il cappello I never wear a hat; metti la sciarpa! put your scarf on!
(porre in una situazione, in uno stato) ~ qcn. di buonumore, di cattivo umore to put sb. in a good, bad mood; ~ qcn. contro qcn. altro to play sb. off against sb.; ~ qcn. a dieta to put sb. on a diet; ~ alla prova to put to the test; ~ in dubbio to question; ~ in fuga qcn. to put sb. to flight; ~ in libertà to set free; ~ qcs. in vendita to put sth. up o offer sth. for sale
(classificare) to put(irregular), to rank; tra gli scrittori, lo metto al primo posto I rank him the best writer of all; ~ i bambini, la sicurezza davanti a tutto to put children, safety first
(appendere, attaccare) to put(irregular) up, to post up [poster, manifesto]
mus. telev. to play, to put(irregular) on [disco, cassetta, CD]; ~ un po’ di musica to play music
(installare) to put(irregular) in [riscaldamento, telefono];
to lay(irregular) on BE [luce, gas];
to put(irregular) in, to fit(irregular) [doccia, mensola]; fare ~ il telefono to have a telephone put in; ~ la moquette to lay a carpet
(puntare) ~ la sveglia alle sette to set the alarm for 7 am; ~ avanti, indietro l’orologio to put forward, back the clock
(scrivere, inserire) to put(irregular) in [parola, virgola]; metta una firma qui sign here
(rendere, volgere) ~ in versi to put into verse; ~ in musica to set to music
(aggiungere) to add, to put(irregular) [ingrediente]
(dedicare) to put(irregular) (in) [energia, impegno]; mettercela tutta to try one’s hardest o best to do; mettici più impegno! try harder!
(impiegare) non metterci tanto don’t be long; ci ho messo due ore it took me two hours; ci hanno messo molto a decidere they’ve been a long time making up their minds; ce ne hai messo di tempo! you took a long time!
(investire, spendere) to put(irregular) [denaro] (in into)
colloq. (fare pagare) a quanto mette le patate? what price have you put on the potatoes? what are you asking for potatoes?
(imporre) to put(irregular) (on), to impose [tassa]
(infondere, provocare) to cause, to inspire; ~ paura a qcn. to frighten sb., to give sb. a scare; ~ allegria to cheer, to delight; ~ sete, fame a qcn. to make sb. thirsty, hungry
(azionare) ~ la retromarcia to go into reverse, to put the car into reverse; ~ la seconda to shift into second gear AE; ~ gli anabbaglianti to dip one’s headlights BE
colloq. (confrontare) to compare; vuoi ~ questo ristorante con quella bettola? how can you compare this restaurant with that greasy spoon? vuoi mettere? there’s no comparison!
colloq. (supporre) to suppose, to assume; mettiamo il caso che... let’s assume that...; mettiamo che sia vero suppose (that) it’s true
mettere su (dare inizio) ~ su famiglia to start a family; ~ su casa to set up home o house; ~ su un negozio to set up o start up shop; (ingrassare) ~ su peso, chili to put on weight, kilos; (sul fornello) ~ su il caffè colloq. to put the coffee on; (allestire) ~ su uno spettacolo to put on o stage a show
mettere sotto ~ sotto qcn. (investire) to run over o down sb.; (fare lavorare) to work sb. hard
intr. (aus. avere) colloq. (regolare) ~ sul terzo (canale) to switch to channel 3
mettersi pronom.
(collocarsi) to put(irregular) oneself; -rsi in un angolo to place oneself in a corner; -rsi in piedi to stand up; -rsi in ginocchio to go o get down on one’s knees, to kneel; -rsi a letto to go to bed, to take to one’s bed; mettiti seduto sit down there; -rsi a tavola to sit down to dinner o to a meal
(infilarsi) -rsi le mani in tasca to put one’s hands in one’s pockets; -rsi una caramella in bocca to pop a sweet in(to) one’s mouth
(indossare) to put(irregular) on, to wear(irregular) [abito, gioiello];
to put(irregular) on [crema, rossetto]; che cosa ti metti stasera? what are you wearing tonight? non ho niente da mettermi I haven’t got a thing to wear; -rsi in pigiama to get into one’s pyjamas; -rsi in maschera to put on o wear fancy dress
(cominciare) -rsi a studiare inglese, a giocare a tennis to take up English, tennis; -rsi a bere to take to the bottle; -rsi a cantare to burst into song, to burst out singing; -rsi a correre to break into a run; si è messo a nevicare it started to snow o snowing
(porsi in una situazione, in uno stato) -rsi dalla parte del torto to put oneself in the wrong; -rsi nei guai to get into trouble; -rsi in salvo to flee to safety; -rsi in viaggio to go on a journey; -rsi contro qcn. to set oneself against sb.
colloq. -rsi insieme [soci, amici] to team up;
[innamorati] to pair off
(evolversi) le cose si mettono male per noi things are looking black for us; dipende da come si mettono le cose it depends how things turn out; il tempo si è messo al bello the weather is set fair
locuzioni idiomatiche come la mettiamo? (di fronte a difficoltà) so where do we go from here? (per chiedere una spiegazione) what have you got to say for yourself? -rsi sotto (impegnarsi) to set to.