# The sardines are eating the anchovies: Is this an Italian proverb? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 18, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sardines-are-eating-the-anchovies-is-this-an-italian-proverb/915675 "2020-07-18T14:57:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2020, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sardines-are-eating-the-anchovies-is-this-an-italian-proverb/915675/21 "2020-07-19T12:04:17Z")
Why is it “le alici” and not “l’alici”? Is the vowel not contracted in the plural? ---
**Author:** ![Astrid1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Astrid1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astrid1)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sardines-are-eating-the-anchovies-is-this-an-italian-proverb/915675/22 "2020-12-10T17:04:35Z")
Don’t listen to others replies! This is the truth: Ciao! Che dici? Le sarde mangiano le alici! It is a way to answer when someone asks you “What’s up? How are you?” If everything is fine, you have no news, nothing important to report, you answer like that because it makes rhyme with “che dici” And you can only reply like this if a person asks you “Che dici?” Is that clear? 😊 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sardines-are-eating-the-anchovies-is-this-an-italian-proverb/915675/23 "2020-12-10T17:06:47Z")
Thank you!! Can you explain the grammar to me? Why is it “le alici” and not “l’alici”? ---
**Author:** ![Astrid1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Astrid1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astrid1)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sardines-are-eating-the-anchovies-is-this-an-italian-proverb/915675/24 "2020-12-10T17:12:56Z")
L’alice is singular Le alici is plural So as there are many alici you cannot say l’ 😊 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sardines-are-eating-the-anchovies-is-this-an-italian-proverb/915675/25 "2020-12-10T17:14:13Z")
I see. I thought the rule was that articles became _l’_ before a vowel. But apparently that’s only in the singular. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Astrid1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Astrid1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astrid1)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sardines-are-eating-the-anchovies-is-this-an-italian-proverb/915675/26 "2020-12-10T17:22:35Z")
Yeah, only in singular. Other examples are : l’amica/ le amiche L’amante/ le amanti L’ancora / le ancore ---
**Author:** ![kazzmann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@kazzmann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kazzmann)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2025, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sardines-are-eating-the-anchovies-is-this-an-italian-proverb/915675/27 "2025-01-16T14:15:13Z")
Thank you. I have been searching for years for this phrase and explanation when asked the question, how are you doing? I grew up in a mixed neighborhood and my family business had quite a few “older” Italians with great expressions. This seems to be one of them. We were not Italian but always enjoyed hearing these. It seems that the newer Italy has lost many of these delightful phrases. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sardines-are-eating-the-anchovies-is-this-an-italian-proverb/915675.md?page=1)