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Umarell, the Italian Alter Kocker

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You’ve seen this guy before: the older gent who strolls around at construction sites, asking questions, offering suggestions, and kibitizing about the activities there. The Italian dictionary Lo Zingarelli (Amazon) recently added the handy neologism umarell, or “little man,” which refers to such a person, noting that he roams around mostly con le mani dietro la schiena, “with his hands behind his back.” This is part of a complete episode.

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