Marco, > No, "archaic", "American" and "informal" are usage labels, not > translations. > The translation is "buon senso". (BTW, it is: "Dizionario Garzanti di > inglese", Garzanti Editore, 1997, ISBN 88-11-10212-X)
Webster's has to know, to understand or common sense, understanding. In actually it is closer to meaning that a person knows their way around. They are adaptable. I suspect that it came from the slave trade and was used to describe slaves who were quick to pick up on things. Knowing where a word comes from often help understand the subtleness of a word. I agree that it is bad to use words that don't translate culturally. I think that savvy is a nice word. The word "nice" from the Latin nescius or ignorant or not knowing. In jest the Roman solders call the brits "nice" in a tone of voice that sounded complementary. Today it is a complement when you really have nothing good to say. It looks to me like UNCODE. Has the UN has taken a rode in globalization? Maybe the web page has no scripting but is still savvy. Who knows? Just move to the next page so that I do not have to look at that awful pink. Carl
