Today’s Parola del giorno is the noun expression il mostro sacro, which means legend or mythical person.

It is usually used to described someone who has accomplished monumental things in their career or lifetime.

I stumbled upon this expression while reading Il Messaggero and saw the expression used in announcing the passing of the French cinema icon Jean-Louis Trintignant.

You can also see it used to describe the tennis player Novak Djokovic, which discusses the upcoming grass court season in tennis.

Check out this pronunciation of the noun expression on Forvo!