October 16, 2007

win some, lose some

When things just don't seem to ever work out for someone, we call them a "loser". The equivalent in Italian is "sfigato" or unlucky.

The first is part of the win/lose paradigm, the second acknowledges the role of fate.

a domani,
E

2 comments:

Roam2Rome said...

I actually hadn't thought of that!

Guess it's a way to take credit when we win...

But wash our hands and blame "luck" or "fate" (therefore, not us) when we loose...

Elizabeth Abbot said...

Actually I have to give my son credit for this observation which he offered up at lunch yesterday for my blog.

We hold a culturally based belief that we can control our destiny, so if things don't work out, it is our fault and we are a "loser".

In cultures where the role of fate is given more space in the scheme of things, we can just be unlucky (sfigato). In any case, we can't control everything, much less our destiny.