You’d expect a dog or cat to be hairy – furry, fluffy or shaggy – but what about a human who’s hairy (pronunciation here)?
It might just refer to someone who’s hairy, or a hairy body part.
It’s a cold day to take a dip in the sea but Davide needn’t worry, look how hairy he is!
It’s a cold day for a dip in the sea but Davide doesn’t need to worry, look how hairy he is!
My hairy eyebrows I got from my mother.
I got my furry eyebrows from my mother.
But it can also mean someone who’s artful and wily – the Treccani dictionary says the word defines someone who has their own interests at heart and lacks moral scruples.
Don’t trust Claudio, he’s the hairiest and most insincere person I’ve ever met.
Don’t trust Claudio, he’s the most self-interested and insincere person I’ve ever met.
Where did the idea of a sly, self-serving person being ‘hairy’ come from?
A video explainer on the Republic news site offers some clues: it discusses the origins of the phrase furry charity, meaning a type of charity or help offered by a donor whose underlying motives are selfish.
According to presenter Stefano Massini, the expression refers all the way back to the 11th century, when William the Conqueror (often referred to as Julian/William the Bastard‘William the Bastard’, in Italian) sought the blessing of Pope Alexander II for his 1066 invasion of England.
Alexander agreed to support William’s military campaign, and was said to have sent the warrior a gold ring along with a few hairs from the beard of St. Peter as a token of his approval.
The invasion was – famously – successful, and to thank to the pope, William sent him a vast array of riches plundered from his new kingdom, worth far more than Alexander’s initial gift of a piece of jewellery and a few hairs.
While we can’t know that Alexander II expected such a high return on investment, these days any charitable donor hoping for similar repayment – or just any giver whose motives are unclear – is said to be offering furry charity.
Meanwhile, have stomach hair – literally, ‘to have hair on your stomach/heart’ means to be completely lacking in scruples and conscience, while to have hair/hairs on the heart – ‘to have hairs on your heart’ means to be cold and insensitive.
One obvious interpretation is that having a body part insulated by hair makes it unfeeling and impervious to any criticism or insults.
Another is that various ancient Greek figures, including Aristomenes of Messene – who fought the Spartans – and the Greek rhetorician Hermogenes of Tarsus, were reputed to have been found with large and hairy hearts in their bodies when they died.
The theory is that at the time this was considered a sign of courage and admirable toughness, but over the course of centuries it came to stand for insensitivity and meanness.
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