DelanoAmerican observers in World War II monitoring Benito Mussolini's radio addresses were puzzled by the fact that he consistently referred to FDR simply as "Delano."
The mystery was soon cleared up by Italian speakers, who gracisouly explained that "Del Ano" is Italian for "of the anus."
[Trivia: Roosevelt, who promised to meet reporters twice a week, held nearly 1,000 press conferences during his presidency. The novelist Saul Bellow once recalled walking down a Chicago street on a hot summer night while Roosevelt was speaking. Families could be seen sitting at their kitchen tables listening to the radio. Under the elm trees, "drivers had pulled over, parking bumper to bumper, and turned on their radios to hear Roosevelt. They had rolled down the windows and opened the car doors. Everywhere the same voice. You could follow without missing a single word as you strolled by."]
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano [FDR] (1882-1945) American politician, governor of New York State, 32nd President of the United States (1933-45) [noted for his economic plan for recovery after the Great Depression (the New Deal) and for his involvement of the United States in World War II (after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in 1941)]
[Sources: Karnataka Quiz Association; Time 100]More Franklin Roosevelt anecdotesRelated Anecdote Keywords:
Italian Insults World War II War Italy Bottoms Translations Contempt Names Languages
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