Wednesday, November 10, 2021

the people of Bologna, Italy, have a dedicated word to describe retired men who pass their time watching construction sites: umarells.

(Wikipedia says they stand “stereotypically with hands clasped behind their back and offering unwanted advice.”)

The word was first offered with this meaning by writer Danilo Masotti in 2005, but increasingly it’s being used in other parts of Italy. Within Bologna, it was honored in 2017 with a public square dubbed Piazzetta degli Umarells — which, ironically, was under construction at the time.

https://www.futilitycloset.com/2020/08/19/noted-18/

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