Sbaglia macchina e sale sull'auto del fidanzato sbagliato

What does “capolinea” mean in Italian?

This mix-up story hinges on the capolinea, the terminus where a tram line starts and ends — the narrator gets into what she assumes is her boyfriend’s identical car, parked at the same capolinea where she gets off. Capolinea combines capo (head/end) and linea (line): the point where a transit line effectively begins again in the other direction.

Because it names a genuine dead-end point, capolinea shows up figuratively too — essere al capolinea can mean a relationship, a career, or a situation has reached its final stop, with nowhere further to go. In this story, though, it’s the very literal setting for a very embarrassing case of mistaken identity.