Family trees have a habit of growing in unexpected directions. One new relationship can suddenly introduce a whole collection of relatives you never had before, from in-laws and their families to the people your own children eventually marry. Keeping track of who’s who is often part of the fun.
La famiglia acquisita brings together some of the Italian words for the family members we gain along the way. Some have close English equivalents, while others describe relationships that English doesn’t always name so precisely.
This time, though, those very relationships have been scrambled up.
Little by little, the jumbled letters begin to make sense, until an Italian word appears.
Download the word scramble below. You can choose between an easier version, with a few letters already in place, or a more challenging one with no hints at all. Each scrambled word comes with a clue to help you along, and if you get stuck, you can reveal the Italian solution and its English translation further down the page.
Divertiti! 😊
Only peek if you get stuck!
Each scrambled word comes with a clue to help you along. If you still need a little help, you can reveal the Italian solution and its English translation, one at a time.
She's your partner's mum.
More than a boyfriend, but not yet a husband.
She makes a special promise at your christening.
Your brother's wife, or your spouse's sister.
The woman your son married.
What your child's father-in-law becomes to you.
She's the reason a godparent exists.
His role begins at a christening.
He married your daughter.
She's said yes, but no wedding yet.
He's your partner's dad.
On his christening day, he gained a godparent.
What your child's mother-in-law becomes to you.
Your sister's husband, or your spouse's brother.
A family relationship English forgot 🤷
Two of the words in this puzzle don't have straightforward English equivalents: consuocero and consuocera.
When your son or daughter gets married, their spouse's father becomes your consuocero, and their spouse's mother becomes your consuocera. English doesn't usually have single words for these relationships, but Italian does.
I've translated them here as "co-father-in-law" and "co-mother-in-law", though I should confess those aren't official dictionary terms, just the clearest way I could find to explain the relationship in English. If you know a proper English word for them, I'd love to hear it!
And since we're talking about acquired family, I have a suocera story of my own. A Spicy Lunch with My Suocera is the story of a family lunch that didn't quite go to plan.
And if all this talk of new relationships has you in a wedding mood, you might enjoy Oggi sposi, a free online crossword all about weddings and newlyweds.
