# odore di pulito



## marinella

esiste in inglese un'espressione simile a odore di pulito?

grazie
marinella


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## trade14u

Literally:  Smell of clean

Prova:  Fresh scent


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## mimitabby

how about "fresh smelling"  "the scent of clean.. (air, room, etc)"


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## Silvia

Odore di pulito is the smell of washing, right after the laundry. Is there an expression for that in English?


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## lsp

silviap said:
			
		

> Odore di pulito is the smell of washing, right after the laundry. Is there an expression for that in English?


The answers from both trade14u and mimitabby are perfect, then.


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## leenico

> Odore di pulito is the smell of washing, right after the laundry. Is there an expression for that in English?


Often times you will hear people say "I like the *clean smell * of laundry."


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## ChickenChicken

Ciao,

Quindi si può dire sia "smell of clean" che "clean smell"? Grazie.


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## AlabamaBoy

ChickenChicken said:


> Quindi si può dire sia "smell of clean" che "clean smell"? Grazie.


Clean è un aggettivo - ci vuole un sostantivo: the clean smell of newly  laundered clothes, the smell of clean laundry, ma "the smell of clean" (senza sostantivo) è  scorretto.


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## You little ripper!

AlabamaBoy said:


> ma "the smell of clean" (senza sostantivo) è  scorretto.


Maybe, according to the grammar purists, AB, but very common in everyday language. _I love the smell of clean!_ is an expression often used by someone with obsessive compulsive disorder.


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## AlabamaBoy

Maybe you hear it (probably because of the influence of Madison Avenue), but those studying English should be aware it is incorrect. Clean is not a noun, and "cleanliness" would sound awkward.


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## You little ripper!

AlabamaBoy said:


> Maybe you hear it (probably because of the influence of Madison Avenue), but those studying English should be aware it is incorrect. Clean is not a noun, and "cleanliness" would sound awkward.


Many who study Italian are actually interested in conversational English, what's used in real life, AB. Incidentally, 'clean' can also be used as a noun - it describes _the process of cleaning_. 
_
I gave the car a (good) clean this morning._


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## joanvillafane

Hi again, YLR! This time it's two AE against one AuE  - I'm with Alabama Boy on this one. Clean is not a noun in this neck of the woods.


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## You little ripper!

joanvillafane said:


> Hi again, YLR! This time it's two AE against one AuE  - I'm with Alabama Boy on this one. Clean is not a noun in this neck of the woods.


It's in Dictionary.com  as one, Joan. 



— *n *32.the act or an instance of cleaning: _he gave his shoes a clean_


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## AlabamaBoy

I have never heard it, but it is in Oxford and in Merriam-Webster (I just checked), so I'll concede to YLR. I just wouldn't say it on this side of the pond because you would get a giggle or a bewildered stare. (They'd think you didn't know English!) I have to admit it sounds awful to my ears. I'd say "He gave his shoes a cleaning" or more likely "He cleaned his shoes."


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## joanvillafane

That may be true, but aren't we here to tell the dictionary what real people really say? For the sake of ChickenChicken and others who are wondering about why "the smell of clean" is not correct it's better not to think of "clean" as a noun.


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## You little ripper!

joanvillafane said:


> That may be true, but aren't we here to tell the dictionary what real people really say? For the sake of ChickenChicken and others who are wondering about why "the smell of clean" is not correct it's better not to think of "clean" as a noun.


Joan, I can't understand why it would be better to not think of it as a noun when it clearly can be. As far as 'the smell of clean' goes - its usage might not be strictly grammatical (well, not yet anyway, but give it time )  and it may not be used in your neck of the woods (or AB's), but it is here, and some Italian natives might be interested in knowing that.


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## Nunou

Sono bellissimi questi vostri scambi d'idee...intanto io ho imparato anche "in this neck of the woods" - "on this side of the pond" e
la più bella di tutte..."for the sake of ChickenChicken"...

Buonanotte e/o buona giornata a tutti!


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## niklavjus

AlabamaBoy said:


> Clean è un aggettivo - ci vuole un sostantivo: the clean smell of newly  laundered clothes, the smell of clean laundry, ma "the smell of clean" (senza sostantivo) è  scorretto.



The same in Italian. 'Pulito' (adjective); 'pulizia' and 'pulita' (nouns). I would add that none of them have any smell. "Odore di pulito" is an idiom: the smell of clean is basically the scent of the soap. 
Logically speaking "_the clean smell of newly laundered clothes_" would have to fall within the same kind of inconsequence. Isn't that so?


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## AlabamaBoy

niklavjus said:


> Logically speaking "_the clean smell of newly laundered clothes_" would have to fall within the same kind of inconsequence. Isn't that so?


 I think you mean _non sequitur_. (Inconsistency maybe?) _Inconsequence_ is incomprehensible in this sentence. 

Yes, it is illogical. It is the perfumed smell of the detergent additives or fabric softener additives. We do not have those in our house because my youngest daughter is allergic to perfumes. No air freshener, no hair spray, only unscented soap and detergent. So the "clean smell of newly laundered clothes" doesn't make any sense at our house. They don't have any "smell."


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## london calling

Us Brits use _clean _as a noun too (_I gave the bathroom a quick clean before I went to work_). Might sound wrong to an American, but not to a Brit.

And have a look at this, just out of interest.


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## Holymaloney

london calling said:


> Us Brits use _clean _as a noun too (_I gave the bathroom a quich clean before I went to work_). Might sound wrong to an American, but not to a Brit.
> 
> And have a look at this, just out of interest.



'Evening LC 

@JVF, looks like we're now 3 to 2


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## niklavjus

AlabamaBoy said:


> I think you mean _non sequitur_. (Inconsistency maybe?) _Inconsequence_ is incomprehensible in this sentence.



Yes, you got it perfectly. I'll try to better understand the differences between inconsequence, inconsistence and inconsecutiveness. Thank you very much.



AlabamaBoy said:


> Yes, it is illogical. It is the perfumed smell of the detergent additives or fabric softener additives. We do not have those in our house because my youngest daughter is allergic to perfumes. No air freshener, no hair spray, only unscented soap and detergent. So the "clean smell of newly laundered clothes" doesn't make any sense at our house. They don't have any "smell."



I'm sorry for your daughter.
What I wanted to say is that there's not a grammatical thing about nouns or adjectives here: neither the 'clean' (noun or adjective) nor the 'cleanliness' have a smell. "Clean smell of something" wouldn't be less uncorrect than "smell of clean". As the clean, per se, hasn't a smell, the smell, per se, can't be clean.
"_Clean smell of newly laundered clothes_", literally translates as "_L'odore _(_di_)_ pulito dei panni appena lavati_", doesn't make sense anywhere, not only at your home, were the clothes perfumed or not. It is just an idiom. Am I wrong?


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## joanvillafane

Holymaloney said:


> 'Evening LC
> 
> @JVF, looks like we're now 3 to 2



Hi Holy and LC - I'm outnumbered, but haven't given up hope that someday we will see a dictionary like this:
I gave my bathroom a quick clean.  BE , AuE , AE


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## You little ripper!

joanvillafane said:


> Hi Holy and LC - I'm outnumbered, but haven't given up hope that someday we will see a dictionary like this:
> I gave my bathroom a quick clean.  BE , AuE , AE


That _would_ make life so much simpler, Joan! As would the invention of a self-cleaning bathroom!


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## AlabamaBoy

niklavjus said:


> "_Clean smell of newly laundered clothes_", literally translates as "_L'odore _(_di_)_ pulito dei panni appena lavati_", doesn't make sense anywhere, not only at your home, were the clothes perfumed or not. It is just an idiom. Am I wrong?


I agree with you. _Cleanliness_ would logically be the absence of odor, but because of the detergent corporate marketing campaigns, we _associate_ the smell of perfume with cleanliness. (Actually, we can't blame them for what we buy. If we did not buy it, they wouldn't sell it.)


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## curiosone

Ciao a tutti 
Just thought I'd even the score to 3:3


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## Nunou

niklavjus said:


> ..."_Clean smell of newly laundered clothes_", literally translates as "_L'odore _(_di_)_ pulito dei panni appena lavati_", doesn't make sense anywhere, not only at your home, were the clothes perfumed or not. It is just an idiom. Am I wrong?



Ciao nik,
credo anche io che sia un semplice "modo di dire" e che grammaticalmente non si può definire "pulito" come sostantivo.
In italiano però abbiamo "pulita" es. dare una pulita al bagno, mentre in inglese  pulito (agg.) e pulita (sost.) si traducono sempre con clean (clean/...a clean).
"Odore/profumo di pulito" secondo me non implicano per forza la presenza di un'essenza, è piuttosto un modo figurato di dire che non si sente nessuna puzza/cattivo odore perché le "cose" sono state lavate/pulite. Ad esempio, ci può essere profumo/odore di pulito nell'aria anche dopo una bella pioggia. Che dire di "odore/puzza di bruciato? Credo che provare a tradurre questa frase in inglese probabilmente risolverebbe i dubbi sulla questione aggettivo/sostantivo...

Buona giornata a tutti!


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## niklavjus

Ciao, Nunou.

Benché 'pulito'  sia un aggettivo, penso che nel caso in questione sia inteso in funzione di sostantivo attraverso una qualche forma di metonimia. Ed è attestato come sostantivo nell'accezione generica di 'luogo pulito', sebbene quest'uso sia molto limitato. 
Ti ringrazio per le tue considerazioni, mi hai dato l'occasione per rileggere e riflettere su quanto già scritto e di accorgermi di un mio errore: ho definito _idiom_ espressioni che ho tradotto letteralmente... Per il resto, spero sia comprensibile.

Buona giornata


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## Nunou

Ciao Nik,
mi sa che hai ragione, in effetti in italiano abbiamo anche gli aggettivi sostantivati quindi ...niente modo di dire, anche io mi sono lasciata confondere...


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## elfa

london calling said:


> Us Brits use _clean _as a noun too (_I gave the bathroom a quick clean before I went to work_). Might sound wrong to an American, but not to a Brit.



I concur 



london calling said:


> And have a look at this, just out of interest.



I'm guessing this is an American blog? All I can say is that "the smell of clean" is completely unknown in the UK and saying it would probably elicit some blank stares.


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## curiosone

I had limited my intervention on this thread to concurring that there was evidently a BE and AE division/disagreement, regarding the use of "clean" as a noun.  This did not imply any criticism on my part of BE usage, nor any assumption that BE (or AE) be any more correct than the other.  They are simply (sometimes) different - and both are correct (where in general usage).  And when I teach English, I specify this to my students - usually advising them to use the form more congenial to them.  Unlike the French, we have no _Accadémie_ to protect the language, and given the lengthy isolation of peoples living on different sides of the world (and I include my Aussie friends), this division of languages occurred quite naturally.  A prime example of this sort of division is Canadian French - which is NOT identical to the French which has been protected for so long, because the people living in that area were not part of a French colony.  My Algerian friends speaks the same French spoken in France, because as a colony the language was protected.  My friends in Québéc do not.  



elfa said:


> Originally Posted by *london calling*
> *Us Brits** (nothing personal, LC, but is "Us Brits" correct in BE English? In AE we use "We" as a subject pronoun**) *use _clean _as a noun too (_I gave the bathroom a quick clean before I went to work_). Might sound wrong to an American, but not to a Brit.
> I concur  *I would understand it without any problem (and maybe even use it), but if asked for an opinion of "what sounds right to me" I would logically refer to my AE roots.*
> 
> I'm guessing this is an American blog? All I can say is that "the smell of clean" is completely unknown in the UK and saying it would probably elicit some blank stares.



Thank you for taking the time (and trouble) to find and share the link, LC.   It simply serves to prove that people continue to make a creative use of language, often in surprising ways.  

Elfa, I note you are quick to assume this is ordinary American English.  I agree, it's probably an American blog, simply because there is a reference to Macy's - which I know to be an American chain of department stores.  For your information, this use of "the smell of clean" was probably coined by the author for poetic/emotional impact.  It was also unknown to me, and taken out of context would also probably elicit some blank stares in AE speakers, too.  However the writer clarifies what she means, in the context.  And I personally applaud authors and poets who use their language creatively, because in my opinion it is such efforts that enrich our language and keep it alive.

*Steps off her soapbox.*


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## london calling

elfa said:


> I'm guessing this is an American blog? All I can say is that "the smell of clean" is completely unknown in the UK and saying it would probably elicit some blank stares.


I have no idea! I was also gobsmacked when I read it.

Curio, _Us Brits _is BE slang. One should say "We British", shouldn't one!


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## elfa

curiosone said:


> Elfa, I note you are quick to assume this is ordinary American English.   I agree, it's probably an American blog, simply because there is a  reference to Macy's - which I know to be an American chain of department  stores.  For your information, this use of "the smell of clean" was  probably coined by the author for poetic/emotional impact.  It was also  unknown to me, and taken out of context would also probably elicit some  blank stares in AE speakers, too.  However the writer clarifies what she  means, in the context.  And I personally applaud authors and poets who  use their language creatively, because in my opinion it is such efforts  that enrich our language and keep it alive.



Noted, curio   The reason I thought it was American English was because of the  reference to the subway as well as to Macy's. However, I'm happy to concede  that the writer used the phrase creatively and for poetic impact.


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