Next time you feel your irritation rising, don’t swallow it back down: just do things the Italian way and give a hearty “Porca miseria!”The phrase means literally ‘pork poverty’, from porco (pig) and miseria (poverty). More figuratively it’s the equivalent of ‘for god’s sake’, an American English ‘goddammit’ or a British ‘bloody hell’.Ma porca miseria, cosa stai facendo?!
For god’s sake, what are you doing?!Just like its English versions, porca miseria isn’t only used in anger: it can also have a tone of incredulity, surprise or even wonderment.Porca miseria, che freddo!
Bloody hell, it’s freezing!
And like that phrase, porca miseria is relatively mild – definitely not to be confused with porca troia or porca puttana, which serve the same purpose but, substituting ‘poverty’ for some unsavoury terms for women, are a lot more vulgar.
Italy has been revealed as the best country in the world in the CNT Awards 2018. It's beautiful scenery and amazing cuisine helped it win the impressive accolade.