umarell

/uma'rɛl/ (oo-mah-rell), n; pl. Umarells. People in a community who offer all sorts of comments to those who are trying to get some work done, but who are not doing any work themselves.

Umarell is a word that entered Italian slang in Bologna and is spreading to nearby towns, occasionally even across Italy. It comes from the Bolognese for "cute/odd little man".

"Umarells" are those people, usually retired men, who spend time watching construction works, often holding their hands behind their back, occasionally commenting on what is going on, sometimes trying to tell the workers what to do.

"Everybody's telling me how I should organize the concert and nobody lifts a finger."
"Yup, they are all umarells"

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umarell

From the Bolognese dialect of Italian, elderly men who spend their time staring at construction sites, commonly with their arms clasped behind their back.

Now that Baby Boomers are retiring, we've seen a huge boom of umarells lining the roadworks.

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