Italian · Behind the Wheel
Leva 'sto culo!
LEH-vah sto KOO-lo · /ˈle.va sto ˈku.lo/
Move your ass! / Get out of the way!
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"Move this ass!"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Aimed at the dawdler ahead who hasn't noticed the light went green three seconds ago (an eternity). "Spostati!" (move it) is the cleaner version; "leva 'sto culo" adds the ass. Pure traffic register — coarse, common, gone the moment the road clears.
Heard in the wild
È verde da un secolo, leva 'sto culo!
It's been green forever, move your ass!
Where it lands
Universal across Italy, though "leva" (vs. standard togli/sposta) is Roman/central-Italian in flavor
Quick answers
- What does "Leva 'sto culo!" mean?
- In Italian, "Leva 'sto culo!" means "Move your ass! / Get out of the way!". Literally it's "Move this ass!". Aimed at the dawdler ahead who hasn't noticed the light went green three seconds ago (an eternity). "Spostati!" (move it) is the cleaner version; "leva 'sto culo" adds the ass. Pure traffic register — coarse, common, gone the moment the road clears.
- Is "Leva 'sto culo!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
- How do you pronounce "Leva 'sto culo!"?
- Say it "LEH-vah sto KOO-lo" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈle.va sto ˈku.lo.
Related in Italian
Ma dove vai?! mah DOH-vay VYE Where the hell do you think you're going?! L'hai presa alla lotteria la patente?! lye PRAY-zah AHL-lah lot-teh-REE-ah lah pah-TEN-tay Where'd you get your license, a cereal box?! Metti la freccia! MET-tee lah FRET-chah Use your blinker! Ma vai a piedi! mah VYE ah PYEH-dee You should be walking, not driving! Ma smettila di strombazzare! mah ZMET-tee-lah dee strom-baht-TSAH-ray Quit leaning on your horn! Pirla! PEER-lah Idiot / dumbass (Milanese)
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Road rage".
- French Quelle galère ! What a hassle / What an ordeal
- Greek κόλλησα στην κίνηση I'm stuck in traffic — the eternal Athens lament.
- Polish niedzielny kierowca Sunday driver — the road-rage taxonomy's gentlest species.
- Portuguese Que saco! What a drag! / So annoying! / Ugh!
- Russian Твою мать! Damn it! / Son of a bitch! / For crying out loud!
- Spanish Estar hasta la madre To be fed up / sick and tired — or packed full
- German Hau ab! Get lost! / Clear off! / Beat it!
- Japanese 死ね Drop dead / go die
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.