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cavallo di battaglia

English translation: Piece de resistance

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Italian term or phrase:cavallo di battaglia
English translation:Piece de resistance
Entered by: Lisa Jane

12:15 Mar 24, 2017
Italian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Music / Entertainment
Italian term or phrase: cavallo di battaglia
Replies were posted some time ago for this phrase, but none were suitable solutions for this context:
A series of shows on which the host performed some of his C di B (his best-known sketches/songs) and all his guests were asked to do likewise, performing what they considered their "forte"?
ulvaferry
Local time: 01:29
Piece de resistance
Explanation:
My English friends use this for showbiz, with or without the accents!

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Note added at 1 hr (2017-03-24 14:09:44 GMT)
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Etymology Edit
Borrowing from French pièce de résistance

Noun Edit
pièce de résistance (plural pièces de résistance)

(idiomatic) A masterpiece; the most memorable accomplishment of one’s career or lifetime.

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Note added at 1 hr (2017-03-24 14:11:47 GMT)
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https://longreads.com/2017/02/11/comedy-the-true-piece-de-re...
Selected response from:

Lisa Jane
Italy
Local time: 01:29
Grading comment
2 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3best shot / signature xx
Shabelula
4 +2Piece de resistance
Lisa Jane
3 +2biggest hits
Patrick Hopkins
4speciality number
Inter-Tra


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
biggest hits


Explanation:
This might be more appropriate for music and theater in general

Patrick Hopkins
Italy
Local time: 01:29
Works in field
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Shabelula: no sorry, IMHO this is not the sense, at least definitely not in the plural
38 mins
  -> Re: Plural because some of his sketchES/songS (plural). Of course "biggest hits" is all relative (not necessarily on Billboard but a person/band's most popular songs/routines) and it is very specific to the context, not applicable outside showbiz.
agree  philgoddard
3 hrs
agree  Nancy Greenleese
7 hrs
disagree  bluenoric: I agree with Raffaella, plural doesn't work with cavallo di battaglia
22 hrs
agree  Vojislava Jankovic (X)
1 day 2 hrs
agree  Anita M. A. Mazzoli: some of his biggest hits: makes sense. Perfectly. And it sounds English ;-)
2 days 23 hrs
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46 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
best shot / signature xx


Explanation:
a series of options available for various professions from "Reverso"



Shabelula
Italy
Local time: 01:29
Native speaker of: Italian
PRO pts in category: 4
Notes to answerer
Asker: they're comedy sketeches, not just songs


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  ChananZass: "sang his signature songs"
38 mins
neutral  philgoddard: "Best shot" isn't correct, but "signature" may be, depending on the Italian context.
1 hr
agree  bluenoric: "signature character" as in Rowan Atkinson/Mr. Bean
22 hrs
agree  Peter Cox
2 days 3 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
speciality number


Explanation:
I think this solution here works quite well

If you wanna preserve sth of the original idiom you might think at 'winning horse'

a 'strong suit' is more a " quality, activity, or skill in which a person excels: "
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/strong suit

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Note added at 1 hr (2017-03-24 13:33:35 GMT)
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a 'core product' (Cirio tomato souce) was also the translation of 'cavallo di battaglia' (Maurizio Costanzo Show)
ps://books.google.it/books?id=_kBpAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA310&lpg=PA310&dq=speciality+number+act+cavallo+di+battaglia&source=bl&ots=ZQ5__ie1Fm&sig=aOdop-dCdHTtTjn6ulMzWKTFoCk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiD-NKon-_SAhWkFJoKHSKxBssQ6AEILTAD#v=onepage&q=speciality%20number%20act%20cavallo%20di%20battaglia&f=false




    Reference: http://en.bab.la/dictionary/english-italian/specialty-number
Inter-Tra
Italy
Local time: 01:29
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Piece de resistance


Explanation:
My English friends use this for showbiz, with or without the accents!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2017-03-24 14:09:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Etymology Edit
Borrowing from French pièce de résistance

Noun Edit
pièce de résistance (plural pièces de résistance)

(idiomatic) A masterpiece; the most memorable accomplishment of one’s career or lifetime.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2017-03-24 14:11:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

https://longreads.com/2017/02/11/comedy-the-true-piece-de-re...


    Reference: http://https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/pi%C3%A8ce_de_r%C3%A...
Lisa Jane
Italy
Local time: 01:29
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Peter Cox
2 days 2 hrs
  -> Thanks Peter
agree  Inter-Tra: Ma che brava. Grazie, ho imparato una nuova espressione idiomatica
7 days
  -> Grazie mille! Il bello di kudoz è proprio questo!
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