sprezzatura
Language: Italian · [sprettsaˈtuːra] · Pronunciation: spret-sah-TOO-rah
Meaning
studied carelessness that hides the effort — nonchalance
The story
Baldassare Castiglione coined it in The Book of the Courtier, 1528: a courtier should hide all his art and seem to act without effort. Menswear writers revived it for the loose tie and the unbuttoned cuff. English has nonchalance.
The four rounds
- Which language is it from?
- Italian
- When did it enter Italian?
- In a 1528 book on court manners
- Where would you hear it?
- A tie knotted a little loose on purpose
- What does it mean?
- Making hard work look like nothing
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