Un pennello is a paintbrush. Un pennello can be for painting a house or wall, or per dipingere un quadro (to paint a painting). 

Pennello. -Eccomi, capo.

Paintbrush. -Here I am, boss.

Caption 60, PIMPA S3 EP7 La casa colorata

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Anche sugli occhi, mi si chiese di non fare il segno delle ciglia con un unico gesto del pennello, ma di cercare di rendere le ciglia più vaporose, più disegnate.

Even on the eyes, I was asked not to do the line of the lashes with a single stroke of the brush, but to try to make the lashes more voluminous, more defined.

Captions 34-36, Fumettology Diabolik - Part 6

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A pennello is something else. The preposition a in this case means "in the manner of."  So we get "paintbrush-like." The original expression uses the verb calzare (to wear, generally referring to shoes or gloves): Calzare a pennello. As if someone had painted the shoes or gloves on someone, they fit so perfectly. In English, we might say, "It fits like a glove." The expression is used figuratively by extension, with other verb, to mean "to perfection" or "perfectly." Let's look at a couple of examples from Yabla videos.

Eh... come il cacio sui maccheroni, cioè come una cosa che ci sta a pennello, che... Perché, in effetti, Anna, quello che stai dicendo è una cosa molto tipica qui in Italia. 

Uh... like macaroni and cheese, that is, like something that pairs perfectly, that... Because, actually, Anna, what you are saying is something very typical here in Italy. 

Captions 56-58, L'Italia a tavola Tonnarelli cacio e pepe - Part 1

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Oggi siamo inondati di bufale, studiate a pennello per ingannare la povera gente.

Nowadays, we are inundated with fake news studied with a paintbrush [perfectly designed] to deceive poor folks.

Captions 41-43, Marika commenta - L'ispettore Manara Espressioni idiomatiche - Part 2

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A somewhat similar expression is a fagiolo. 

Un fagiolo is a bean. We usually use the plural when it's about food. 

Non ti piace la mia pasta e fagioli?

Don't you like my pasta and beans?

Caption 3, I Bastardi di Pizzofalcone S1 EP6 Buio - Part 6

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But when we say something happens a fagiolo, that's something different. There are various verbs to use before it:

andare (to go) 

capitare (to happen)

cascare (to fall)

venire (to come, to arrive)

arrivare (to come, to arrive)

And a fagiolo can mean:

a genio (brilliantly)

al momento giusto (at the right moment)

al punto giusto (to the right degree)

a proposito (perfectly relevant)

The origin of the expression is uncertain. If it began in Tuscany, we can say that beans are a favorite dish for Florentines, especially, so the meaning is positive. Black and white beans were once used to cast votes in meetings and assemblies. Some scholars say that might be the source of the use of beans in such an expression. This author wonders if it might be about the bean fitting perfectly into the pod it comes from. 

Here's an example from a Yabla video. The context is that a warehouse where evidence was stored blew up, supposedly because of a gas leak. Imma Tataranni is extremely skeptical. 

Davvero? Ah, per qualcuno arriva a fagiolo questo gas, eh.

Really? Ah, for someone, this gas arrived at the perfect moment, huh.

Caption 21, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP4 Maltempo - Part 2

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Stay on the lookout for a pennello and a fagiolo. Now you will know what they mean!

Thanks for reading! Please write to us with your ideas and questions: [email protected]

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