“Ditto with potatoes” is an expression familiar to many Italians, often used with tone ironic to indicate repetitiveness or similarity, perhaps just with a small variation (idem can be translated from Latin as “the same”). But what are its historical and cultural roots? The saying probably reflects the custom of many Italian trattorias from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to propose the same dishes with different contours. “Ditto with potatoes”, written on the menus or said when ordering, would therefore have had the sense of asking for the same dish but with a different or additional side dish.
For example in a menu something like this could have been found:
- Steak with spinach
- Ditto with potatoes
This indicated that the steak could be served with an alternative side dish. Potatoes, an economical and versatile food, were among the most popular side dishes, together with spinach, seasonal vegetables or legumes. This culinary practice would later be absorbed into everyday language with a ironic nuancebecoming a way to underline the repetition of something, often with a small difference that does not change the substance.
There is one circulating on the web more cultured theory but without historical foundationlinked to the Latin phrase “ditto compare (to)” what does it mean “the same, applied to…” However, this explanation has no historical corroboration and is generally classified as a paretymology, that is, a popular etymology without scientific basis. The presumed derivation from classical Latin, in fact, appears forced, given that the expression is inserted in the context of a popular and non-formal language.
