di contrabbando
Italian
Etymology
Literally, "of contraband."
Adjective
di contrabbando (invariable)
- smuggled
- 2019, George Orwell, Nicola Gardini, transl., Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mondadori:
- Gridavano insulti alle guardie, alzavano le mani quando si vedevano sequestrare le loro cose, scrivevano parole oscene sul pavimento, mangiavano cibi di contrabbando che estraevano da qualche piega del vestiario e arrivavano a zittire il teleschermo quando cercava di riportare l'ordine.
- They yelled insults at the guards, fought back fiercely when their belongings were impounded, wrote obscene words on the floor, ate smuggled food which they produced from mysterious hiding-places in their clothes, and even shouted down the telescreen when it tried to restore order.
- (literally, “They yelled insults at the guards, assaulted [them] when they saw their things being sequestered, wrote obscene words on the floor, ate smuggled foods that they extracted from some folds of clothing, and came to shut up the telescreen when it tried to bring back order.”)
Adverb
di contrabbando
- by means of smuggling
- far entrare di contrabbando ― to smuggle in (literally, “to make enter by means of smuggling”)
- (figurative, by extension) illicitly or clandestinely
- Synonyms: illecitamente, clandestinamente, furtivamente, di nascosto