Today’s Parola del Giorno is the verb sgobbare, which means to work hard or to toil away.

When referring to studying, it can mean to cram when referring to someone who is always hitting the books hard to prepare for an exam.

This verb is derived from the Italian noun la gobba, which means hunchback and alludes to the way that one might feel or be physically when toiling hard at a difficult job or task.

See our expression used below:

Questo nuovo lavoro è davvero duro: sgobbo dalla mattina alla sera per pochi soldi e in più devo anche subire le cattiverie dei colleghi. Non durerò molto.

This new job is really difficult: I work hard from morning to night for little money, and, more importantly, I also have to put up with my coworker’s nastiness. I will not last long.