User:WhatADayToday12/Essere al verde

Being broke (Essere al verde) is a typical saying in the Italian language in both colloquial and literary use, which means "being left without a dime." The expression is very common, but there are various theories about its origin.

Debate on the origin
There are different theories about the origin of the expression, sometimes born in social contexts, in most cases, it would be a form of pseudoetymology.

According to some research, the saying derives from an ancient medieval custom, which consisted of having bankrupt individuals wear a green cap as a sign of public ridicule.

In his Notes to the Malmantile racquistato (1688), Paolo Minucci remembers how at the public auctions of the Magistrate of the Salt of Florence, long candles dyed green at the lower end were used as "timekeepers": when the candle reached "the green," the auction closed. Or, since the poor didn't have money to buy a new candle when it was finished, they used it down to the base, which, once upon a time, was always green. From this came the expression "the candle is at the green," indicating that time was up, but also "being green with money," which in common use has been shortened to the current "being broke."

In another case, it could derive from the fact that the inner "lining" of the purse was usually green, so when opening it, being empty, one could only see the lining.

According to another theory, the expression would derive from a medieval custom that involved lighting a green lantern when food was ready for a special category of poor people, the "shameful," i.e., those who were not born poor but who had become so and therefore did not adapt to the "normal" begging. This custom allowed them to enter the charitable entity in silence, without knocking, with less chance of being seen.

In Padua, the phrase's origin is believed to come from the "green room" of the ancient Caffè Pedrocchi, where, by old tradition, anyone can sit without consuming.

Others maintain that the expression originated in gambling houses. The player who lost all his chips when looking at the spot where he kept his own stash sees only the traditionally green gaming table.

Another theory, from Emilia-Romagna, is reaching the green of the rind of a watermelon, after consuming the red, scraping the bottom until reaching the end.

Another theory refers to the color of the first bills of exchange, which were indeed green. Those who ran out of money could pay with the bills of exchange that were colored.

The Italian flag is composed of three colors, and the green part (stripe) is the one closest to the pole. The popular saying refers to the eventuality, which occurred in particularly bloody battles, that the part of the flag first red and then white would be missing because they were affected in combat. Traditional paintings of battles typically depict tattered flags and missing their outer parts.

A study conducted by the University of Milan found that the origin of the saying is to be attributed to the color of the rooms where money was lent.

Equivalents in other languages

 * French: être dans le rouge
 * English: to be penniless, to be on the rocks, to be flat broke
 * Portuguese: estar teso, estar liso, não ter um chavo
 * Spanish: estar sin blanca, estar sin un duro (Spain), estar tieso (Spain), estar sin lana (Mexico), estar sin un peso (Mexico)
 * German: auf den Hund kommen