botte di ferro

English translation: to be on sure ground (o home and dry)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Italian term or phrase:	botte di ferro
English translation:	to be on sure ground (o home and dry)
Entered by:	Nicole Johnson

08:43 Feb 7, 2007

Italian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / Magazine Article

Italian term or phrase: botte di ferro

Anyone have a good equivalent in English for "botte di ferro"?

Ora, il Bjp è piuttosto in crisi di idee e di leadership. Ciò non significa, però, che il Congresso sia in **una botte di ferro*** e che la politica indiana viaggi su binari certi. Anzi.

Nicole Johnson KudoZ activity Questions: 610 (1 open) (14 closed without grading) Answers: 266 Italy
Local time: 22:43

to be on sure ground (o home and dry)

Explanation:
.

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Note added at 7 mins (2007-02-07 08:50:53 GMT)
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ho trovato anche *to be as safe as houses* e *to be as safe as the Bank of England*. Dal dizionario Ragazzini, Zanichelli

Selected response from:

Luisa Fiorini
Italy
Local time: 22:43

Grading comment

Thanks Luisa!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +6

to be on sure ground (o home and dry)

Luisa Fiorini

3 +2

to be impregnable

Valeria Faber

to be as safe as houses

Pnina

to be sitting pretty

Beatrice T

solid as a rock

Emily Goodpaster

Answers

1 min confidence:

to be sitting pretty

Explanation:
or:
to be safe as houses

dal diz. Oxford-Paravia

Beatrice T
Italy
Native speaker of:

Italian

3 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

to be impregnable

Explanation:
literally

Valeria Faber
Italy
Local time: 22:43
Native speaker of:

Italian

1 min confidence:

peer agreement (net): +6

to be on sure ground (o home and dry)

Luisa Fiorini
Italy
Local time: 22:43
Native speaker of:

Italian
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Thanks Luisa!

2 hrs confidence:

to be as safe as houses

Explanation:
The expression "essere in una botte di ferro" is translated as "to be as safe as houses".
Reference: Webster's New World Italian Dictionary

Pnina
Israel
Local time: 23:43
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Hebrew
PRO pts in category: 8

9 hrs confidence:

solid as a rock

Explanation:
I think 'on sure ground' works very well in this context. For fun, here's another 'stability' idiom...

Reference: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/solid

Emily Goodpaster
Local time: 22:43
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 2

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botte di ferro

English translation: to be on sure ground (o home and dry)

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botte di ferro

English translation: to be on sure ground (o home and dry)

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