# essere a cavallo



## Sybil

Ciao a tutti!

I know that "siamo a cavallo" means "we've made it," but that's all I know.
Could you provide me with some context? 
My question is can I use this idiom any time I reach a goal? 

To be more specific, can I say "siamo a cavallo" both when
1. a long journey comes to an end
2. I'm relieved we've reached a business decision 

Hm... this reminds me. How do I say to someone who has just arrived safely at her/his destination "(I'm) glad you made it OK"?


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## danalto

1st: ce l'abbiamo fatta.
 2nd: siamo a cavallo.

 (um...too much synthetical???)


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## mimitabby

danalto said:
			
		

> 1st: ce l'abbiamo fatta.
> 2nd: siamo a cavallo.
> 
> (um...too much synthetical???)


 Daniela, he asked 3 questions, which is which?
thanks
Mimi


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## carlafed

Sybil said:
			
		

> Ciao a tutti!
> 
> I know that "siamo a cavallo" means "we've made it," but that's all I know.
> Could you provide me with some context?
> My question is can I use this idiom any time I reach a goal?
> 
> To be more specific, can I say "siamo a cavallo" both when
> 1. a long journey comes to an end
> 2. I'm relieved we've reached a business decision
> 
> Hm... this reminds me. How do I say to someone who has just arrived safely at her/his destination "(I'm) glad you made it OK"?



In my opinion, "siamo a cavallo" does not exactly mean "we have made it", but we are going to make it, we found a successful way to solve the problem, or we have a good chance to obtain the result we want or similar

"Siamo a cavallo"  has the idea you are still traveling. But if you ride a horse, you will get to your destination faster than on foot ... and that's where it comes from.

So you can use "siamo a cavallo" for your second example (we have reached a decision, so we have good chance to arrive to a solution)
but not in the case of a journey or when you arrive at your destination.
 In this case, you say
"siamo arrivati sani e salvi" oppure "ce l'abbiamo fatta"
(sottinteso: ad arrivare)


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## Silvia

I agree with carla, however, there's more to it.

"Siamo a cavallo!" or "a cavallo siamo!" can be considered a sort of interjection meaning: siamo messi bene! Siamo a posto! (with ironical meaning), something similar to "we're in good hands!"

I hope this helps


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## lsp

silviap said:
			
		

> ... something similar to "we're in good hands!"


 Or maybe "we're on the right track"?


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## Sybil

I see...
Thanks for your replies, everyone.  

And what's Italian for "(I'm) glad you made it OK" when a person arrives safely at his/her destination, per favore?


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## Silvia

lsp said:
			
		

> Or maybe "we're on the right track"?


 I'm not sure that's ironical? If it is, then yes 



			
				Sybil said:
			
		

> I see...
> Thanks for your replies, everyone.
> 
> And what's Italian for "(I'm) glad you made it OK" when a person arrives safely at his/her destination, per favore?


 Sono contenta che sei arrivato sano e salvo, o che sei arrivata sana e salva (ovviamente è più corretto il congiuntivo, ma trattandosi di qualcosa che potresti dire al telefono... la forma colloquiale che ho fornito è la più comune). Oppure potresti dire, sono contenta di sapere che è andato tutto bene.


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## Sybil

Grazie per la tua traduzione, Silvia.  Mille grazie!


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## carlafed

silviap said:
			
		

> I'm not sure that's ironical? If it is, then yes



I frankly do not agree that "siamo a cavallo" is _always_ ironical.
It can be, but it can also be seriuos:
It means "we are in a good position to make it"
That's how I have always used it. In normal speech it is frequently ironical, because it sounds an old saying, but not necessarily.


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## Alfry

sometimes it can also be considered like :
to be out of danger          or 
to be safe                       or 
to be home and dry


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## Silvia

carlafed said:
			
		

> I frankly do not agree that "siamo a cavallo" is _always_ ironical.


 Who said always?!  I didn't!


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## carlafed

silviap said:
			
		

> Who said always?!  I didn't!



Great. Then we agree


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## Jezza

Hi All
when would you use the expression "siamo a cavallo" in Italian? does it mean something like 'it's in the bag', or 'in the home straight'? or does it imply you've 'broken the back' of some task, or you're 'over the worst'?  or does it have some more subtle meaning?
thanks, Jezza


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## DDT

I'd suggest "I'm home and dry"

DDT


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## V52

Hi Jezza 
"Siamo a Cavallo"   Liltterally "we have jumped on the horse" , implies  "we have jumped on the horse and we can ride" . So its real meaning is: " We  are safe and we can go on" . I don't know if the suggestion of DDT is correct,  unless  "We are home and dry"  implies  the "chance of going on". 
Ciao 
Vitt52


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## BklynGiovanna

Would you keep it "siamo" even if talking about first person singular?  Or does it change to sono?


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## lsp

DDT said:
			
		

> I'd suggest "I'm home and dry"
> 
> DDT


I don't think I'd know what you meant by that. 

Maybe "Home free," which means we're in a very comfortable position, certain of our eventual success. "This is going to be a new client, I'm sure. Once we get this last part of the proposal approved, we're home free." I guess it comes from baseball, as crossing home plate means a run is scored.

Sei a cavallo, according to a native-Italian friend, means "You're all set." So that also seems to answer BG's question, it can be conjugated.


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## Jezza

this is very helpful, thanks all!


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## Jana337

Jezza, you could have edited the first post

Jana


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## Panpan

I can confirm that 'home and dry' is the British English expression equivalent to the US English 'home free' (except the BE expression dosn't relate to baseball.)

Panpan


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## Siberia

Avete una macchina? Allora siete a cavallo. Prendete la strada 41 per XXX etc

What does that expression mean? Does it mean something like Get going!! or You're on your way!

not sure
Sib


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## Max.89

The difficult part is done or something like that.


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## Saoul

An example.

- Ho bisogno di un prestito.
- Sei a cavallo, io sono ricco.

- I need a bank loan.
- You're safe. I'm rich.

It means "you did it" "you're safe", or as Max said sometimes "the hardest part is done".


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## Paulfromitaly

You're home and dry.


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## raffavita

"Essere a cavallo" means "to make it".


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## Istrice 2111

raffavita said:


> "Essere a cavallo" means "to make it".



Scusami ma non capisco, puoi farmi un esempio?


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## raffavita

"To make it" nel senso di "aver risolto i propri problemi", "venirne a capo".


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## Istrice 2111

raffavita said:


> "To make it" nel senso di "aver risolto i propri problemi", "venirne a capo".



Grazie mille very useful


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## raffavita

Ovviamente in senso metaforico.
Quello letterale è "to ride on a horseback".


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## _forumuser_

raffavita said:


> "To make it" nel senso di "aver risolto i propri problemi", "venirne a capo".


 
I'm sorry, I have to disagree.  Essere a cavallo means *to be finally in the ideal situation to do something* having solved some side-issues that were holding you back. For example when you need one final player to complete your mini-soccer team and you find one you say: "Oh, adesso siamo a cavallo!" Now you are ready to play.

In EN I would translate it as:

Now I'm good to go
Now I'm game
Now we're talking
Now we have all we need
*We're all set 
etc. 

Perhaps somebody else can come up with better tranlsations.

*We're all set (given in the earlier thread) is a brilliant translation. Just note that in common parlance you're all set is used to say "hai finito, puoi andare", per esempio in un ufficio, dopo aver esplicato tutte le pratiche. Being highly metaphorical, essere a cavallo should be used with more moderation than we're all set.


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## raffavita

Ciao tutti,
ecco il link in cui ho trovato la traduzione di "essere a cavallo" come "to make it" nel senso di riuscire a risolvere una cosa".
http://www.locuta.com/anim_meta.html


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## _forumuser_

raffavita said:


> Ciao tutti,
> ecco il link in cui ho trovato la traduzione di "essere a cavallo" come "to make it" nel senso di riuscire a risolvere una cosa".
> http://www.locuta.com/anim_meta.html


 
Ciao raffavita. Grazie del link. Ma credo che risolvere un problema non sia l'interpretazione migliore per 'siamo a cavallo'. Ma soprattutto credo 'to make it' sia una traduzione completamente sbagliata per 'risolvere un problema'. To make it significa avere successo in qualcosa, raggiungere finalmente un traguardo difficile. Qualcuno dovrebbe dire a chi gestisce il sito di aggiornare la pagina...


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## raffavita

Ma l'espressione "essere a cavallo", propriamente, come si può spiegare, allora? Io ero convinta che significasse "venirne a capo", aver trovato la soluzione giusta. Che cosa significa invece, esattamente?


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## _forumuser_

raffavita said:


> Ma l'espressione "essere a cavallo", propriamente, come si può spiegare, allora? Io ero convinta che significasse "venirne a capo", aver trovato la soluzione giusta. Che cosa significa invece, esattamente?


 
Come ho scritto su in inglese, io direi 'abbiamo tutto quello che ci serve/siamo a posto/siamo pronti/ecc.' Non ho un buon dizionario di italiano sottomano ma penso che sia cosi'. Venirne a capo ovviamente ci si avvicina parecchio, ma credo che la differenza principale sia nel fatto che 'essere a cavallo' implica che ora hai mezzi necessari per fare qualcosa, mentre 'venire a capo di qc' questa sfumatura che non ce l'ha. Ti convince?


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## raffavita

Chissà perché ero convinta che per traslato volesse dire anche "avercela fatta". Grazie per i chiarimenti. Ora cominciano a tornare i conti.


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## prowlerxpla

I think that "siamo a cavallo" is mostly used after a favourable event, for exemple: We are running in a car race, we are quite sure to win, the two stronger challenger has an accident, we can say "ah adesso siamo a cavallo" meaning that now we are sure to win (if we have the accident the event is unfavourable and you can say it ironically, and the tone rules)



			
				Isp said:
			
		

> "Home free," which means we're in a very comfortable position, certain of our eventual success:


 I think in this case we can say "siamo in una botte di ferro"


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## Paulfromitaly

*                                 NEW QUESTION*​Could "to be sitting pretty" ever be translated as "essere a cavallo" or does it only mean "to be in a good financial situation" ?


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## TimLA

*NEW ANSWER*

"To be sitting pretty" can be used in almost any context.

Italy is sitting pretty to win the next world cup.
John bought stocks when the Dow hit 8,000 and now he's sitting pretty.
Caesare is sitting pretty now that he has crossed the Rubicon.
After the Sistine ceiling, Michelangelo is sitting pretty in the Pope's eyes.
and on and on...


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## Paulfromitaly

TimLA said:


> *NEW ANSWER*
> 
> "To be sitting pretty" can be used in almost any context.
> 
> Italy is sitting pretty to win the next world cup.
> John bought stocks when the Dow hit 8,000 and now he's sitting pretty.
> Caesare is sitting pretty now that he has crossed the Rubicon.
> After the Sistine ceiling, Michelangelo is sitting pretty in the Pope's eyes.
> and on and on...


Cool, so it's like "to be in a very advantageous position" then.


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## TimLA

Paulfromitaly said:


> Cool, so it's like "to be in a very advantageous position" then.


 

Other synonyms:
...looking good...
...in the driver's seat...
...the man/team/woman...
...has the advantage...
and many more that I can't think of this early.


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## london calling

Yes, Tim!
And so now Tim is sitting pretty in everyone's eyes!


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## Paulfromitaly

london calling said:


> Yes, Tim!
> And so now Tim is sitting pretty in everyone's eyes!


He has always been


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## Azazel81

Silvia said:


> I agree with carla, however, there's more to it.
> 
> "Siamo a cavallo!" or "a cavallo siamo!" can be considered a sort of interjection meaning: siamo messi bene! Siamo a posto! (with ironical meaning), something similar to "we're in good hands!"
> 
> I hope this helps


 
Sorry if I'm late in reading this. I have to admit I read the first page only... didn't have enough time to read the whole thread through.

I quote this because I have to say something about it:

Either You (author of this post) are from Sicily (or somewhere nearby it) or there's something wrong! When did you ever hear "a cavallo siamo"?  I think this can be heard in Sicily (and Calabria maybe) only.
The rest of Italy usually says "siamo a cavallo".

Point 2: if you say "siamo a posto" with ironical meaning, it's definitely the opposite of "siamo a cavallo"... not the same. "Siamo a posto" means "we're alright" or something like that anyway. But if you say it with irony it means "something's wrong".

"Siamo a cavallo" means "we're halfway from our goal" or anyway something along these lines.


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## GavinW

Yep. Precisely. And not just financially. So your hunch that it works well as a translation of "essere a cavallo" (which I did not known as an expression with this meaning) seems to be well-founded.

EDIT: Late reply to Paul's post (#40). Apologies for not seeing new page!


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## King Crimson

--- OLD THREAD ----

I’m reviving this thread because it seems to me that an interesting point raised by Silvia in post 5 (and also hinted at by prowlerxpla in post 37 and azazel81 in post 44) was not addressed, that is to say how can this expression be translated when it is used ironically. In fact I went through this 3-page long thread and realized that all the translations proposed just seem to refer to the literal meaning of this expression. For example, I guess that on many occasions an expression like “that’s all I need” could work:
A – Mi hanno appena detto che c’è uno sciopero dei treni
B – Sono a cavallo (or “sono a posto”), sto già facendo tardi per andare al lavoro

A – I have just been told there is a train strike
B – (Oh great) That’s all I need (right now), I’m already late for work

Another good example to illustrate the difference is the example in post 24, which I’m quoting below:
A - Ho bisogno di un prestito
B - Sei a cavallo, io sono ricco

A - I need a loan
B - You're safe. I'm rich.

There is a difference, however: while in the first case the ironic meaning is straightforward (I would say it is the only possible meaning), in the second example only the context (and possibly tone, emphasis and body language of B in uttering the sentence) can clarify whether the intended meaning is literal or ironic (that is, if B is actually rich or broke).
I also assume that we will not have a one-size-fits-all translation here, but would be curious to know whether one or more of the expressions mentioned in this thread (home and dry, sitting pretty, home free etc.) could be used in both contexts (literal and ironic) or only in one of the two cases.


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## Briseide00

Ciao,
ho letto tutti i post e chiedo aiuto perchè ho bisogno di trovare un gioco di parole che renda l'idea del modo di dire "Sei a cavallo!" in inglese.
Il contesto è equestre perciò mi chiedevo se si riesce in maniera  figurata a mantenere l'idea. Il dizionario mi dice che " straddle" è anche un termine figurato. Il contesto è equestre, il sito di un centro di equitazione dove si vuole esprime il concetto che facendo un certo tipo di esercizi si è a cavallo letteralmente e in senso figurato.
Vi ringrazio anticipatamente per il vostro tempo e attenzione

Hello, I have read all the posts but I am looking for a different translation, a way to express the italian sentence "Sei a cavallo!" . The meaning literally is "You are on a horse back!" and means you are closed to success. The dictionary tells me the word "straddle " has also a figurative meaning. is it correct? Can I use it?
The context is an equestrian center website and what they want to express is that, doing some kind of exercises, you will be on horse back literally but also closed to success and improving your technique.
Thank you in advance for your time and attention.


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## london calling

Welcome.

Non esistono  frasi fatte in inglese per dire 'Sei a cavallo!' che abbiano lo stesso significato che ha l'espressione italiana. Dovremmo inventarci qualcosa. Detto questo, 'straddle' non mi convince.

_You're all saddled up and ready to go!_ (?)


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## theartichoke

"You're in the saddle!" might work. "In the driver's seat" is rather more common in the figurative sense of "in a position of control," but the Free Dictionary does confirm my vague feeling that "in the saddle" is a similar idiom: in the saddle

"Get on your high horse!" also occurred to me as a jokey kind of slogan, but it doesn't have the connotations you want.


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## Briseide00

thank you 


london calling said:


> Welcome.
> 
> Non esistono  frasi fatte in inglese per dire 'Sei a cavallo!' che abbiano lo stesso significato che ha l'espressione italiana. Dovremmo inventarci qualcosa. Detto questo, 'straddle' non mi convince.
> 
> _You're all saddled up and ready to go!_ (?)


thank you so much. it is very nice!


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## Briseide00

theartichoke said:


> "You're in the saddle!" might work. "In the driver's seat" is rather more common in the figurative sense of "in a position of control," but the Free Dictionary does confirm my vague feeling that "in the saddle" is a similar idiom: in the saddle
> 
> "Get on your high horse!" also occurred to me as a jokey kind of slogan, but it doesn't have the connotations you want.


it sounds very similar. I am elaborating. Thank you so much for your help  !!


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