torre d'avorio

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “tower of ivory”. Compare French tour d’ivoire.

Noun

torre d'avorio f (plural torri d'avorio)

1. (idiomatic) ivory tower
   • 2020, Barack Obama, chapter 25, in Chicca Galli, Paolo Lucca, Giuseppe Maugeri, transl., Una terra promessa [A Promised Land], Garzanti Libri:

     Quella sera... le suggerii che forse sarebbe stato meglio per lei uscire dalla torre d'avorio e lavorare per qualche tempo con me.

     That evening... I suggested she might want to get out of the ivory tower and work with me for a spell.

     (literally, “That evening... I suggested that it might have been better for her to get out of the ivory tower and work for some time with me.”)