N'Italian Lessons 101
Several weeks ago I was at a family function in New York. On the way home I was talking to my wife while waving my hands, making faces, and using words and phrases that cracked her up. She astutely pointed out that, whenever I'm in the same room with my relatives for more than five minutes, I make an interesting transition from the well-spoken Ivy League-educated hornster that I usually am to someone who is straight off the set of a Sopranos episode. My first reaction was to throw up my hands and reply "Whaddya talkin?" Her response was a simple "See...that's what I'm talking...about."
Of course, she was right. So, being the ever-inquisitive hornster, I started thinking about this. Here are my conclusions:
In the New York - New Jersey area in particular, many people of Italian-American descent have developed their own version of Italian slang, that I'll call N'Italian. Granted, some of the slang is a pretty brutal bastardization of la bella lingua, but, I grew up with them so they are near and dear to my heart. Some words and expressions have many variations in spelling. For example, the letters 'c' and 'g' are often used in place of one another. Some also have multiple meanings…so hand gestures, facial expression, and body language are often needed to make an accurate interpretation of context…these will be the subject of a future post. They also have their own English slang expressions...that too will be the subject of another post.
Here are a few samples of what I'll call N'Italian 101...a N'Italian/English dictionary of sorts:
gabagool. This is pronounced ga-ba-'gool. It's slang for cappicola, a highly seasoned type of ham that is a popular cold cut.
proshut. This is pronounced pro-'shoot. It's slang for prosciutto, a salt-cured type of ham eaten as a cold cut and used in Italian cooking.
madonna. Pronounced madonn' or mah-'dawn. The literal meaning is 'virgin mary' or 'mother of God,' but its slang meanings are "Oh no!" or "That's too bad" or "Holy shit!" A variation is the expression madonna mia. Sample usage:
Paulie: "Tony, I'm stuck in friggin' traffic, so I'm gonna' be late for the meetin'.
Oh yeah. And I forgot to pickup the gabagool and proshut."
Tony: "Madonn', what the hell else is gonna' go wrong today?"
ming. Pronounced ming'. Often used as a substitute for madonna.
goomah. Pronounced goo-'mah or coo-'mah. This means 'girlfriend,' but it must be used in the proper context. If you're single and have a girlfriend, she's your goomah. Your wife or fiance is NOT your goomah. If you're married or engaged, a goomah is someone you're seeing on the side.
stunad. Pronounced stew-'nod. A person who is stupid, thick, dense. Sample usage:
"I tell him how to do it five times, and he still screws it up. Ming, what a friggin' stunad."
oobatz. Pronounced oo-'botz. It means 'crazy' or 'you're crazy.' Sample usage:
"Friggin' shyster sends me a bill for five grand. I call him up and say 'You think I'm gonna pay this? Oobatz.'"
stugats. Pronounced stew-'gotz. It means 'balls' or 'big balls' or 'you've got some balls.' In the Sopranos, Tony's boat is named Stugats.
fancul. Pronounced fon-'gool. It means to 'go f--- yourself' or 'f--- yourself up the a--.' Variations include va fancul and a fancul.
fanuk. Pronounced fa-'nuke or fi-'nuke. A guy who is gay. Think Vito in the last few episodes of the Sopranos.
In a future post, I'll put these together with some English slang expressions and body language. That's all one needs to carry on a basic conversation.
Badaboom Badabing...
If you enjoyed this post you might like to hear what some of these expressions sound like over here.
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Labels: italian-american slang, n'italian lessons
posted by Badabing @ 4:34 PM
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54 Comments:
What's bad is... I can just hear those expressions being said. With, of course, appropriate gestures. Or maybe inappropriate ones, if in mixed company.
Good post.
John
OK, so I read your Italian lessons and they aren't bad, but some things need to be clarified i think. So, I hope you don't take offense ot my editing job - or you can just tell me fancul'a'sorella.
MING' - short for MINCHIA which is a Sicilian dialect for cock. SEE: CAZZO
STUGATS - short for Sto'cazzo which is, again, a word meaning dick or my dick or this dick. A less regional "cockism" than minchia.
FANUK - short for finocchio, an Italian word for fennel and vernacular for homosexual man (probably because the bulb fennel plant looks like a cock and balls).
Very interesting. Do you know enough Italian to know where they come from? - though some are dialect and not Italian properly speaking.
ming is "minchia", a Sicilian word for the, ah, male member
goomah is probably, "comare", Neapolitan for a married or at least attached lady
oobatz is "o pazzo", Neapolitan and general Southern Italian for, oh, "this nut case". a "pazzo" is an insane person in standard Italian.
stugats is "sto cazzo", which doesn't mean, um, "large-balled" in Italy. It's just a general, if vulgar, exclamation of surprise. A "cazzo" is standard Italian for the male member.
fanuck is "finocchio", slang from Neapolitan for a gay. It means "fennel", a plant that doesn't need cross-pollinizing...
ming probably comes from the sicilian word for penis, "minchia". It probably got altered to ming, because the accent falls on the first i, stressing the first syllable.
stugats actually comes from the words " 'sto cazzo" , literally, "this dick". It's still used in today's "bella lingua", usually in it's plural form, "'sti cazzi!" as a true manifestation of surprise of the good type.
ming probably comes from the sicilian word for penis, "minchia". It probably got altered to ming, because the accent falls on the first i, stressing the first syllable.
stugats actually comes from the words " 'sto cazzo" , literally, "this dick". It's still used in today's "bella lingua", usually in it's plural form, "'sti cazzi!" as a true manifestation of surprise of the good type.
Just a little info from an Italian-Italian...
Most of the words you mention aren't based on actual Italian, but from Naples or Sicilian dialects.
Also, here are a few ethymologies:
"Gabagool" - Isn't from "cappicola" but from "capocollo".
"Ming" - Is a bastardization of "minchia" (remember Zappa's "Tengo una minchia tanta"?) meaning "penis" in Sicilian.
"Oobatz" - Would be "U' Pazz", literally "The madman", in Naples dialect.
"Stugats" - Is "'stu cazz", Naples dialect from "'sto cazzo", or "this penis".
"Fancul" - Is short for "Va a fare in culo" > "Vaffanculo" > "Fanculo". Losing the ending "o" is typical of Southern dialects.
"Fanuk" - Comes from "Finocchio", literaily "fennel".
some other words:
mamaluke;
shengaad;
mamone:
agita:
check out www.bubblegumgangster.com
does anyone know the real spelling of a phrase that sounds like"taste tan culo in pie e za"
my mom would never tell me what it meant.
thanks
sicilianapachegirl
Great blog. I love it. Could anyone tell me what "pezzenovante" means? It was used several times in The Godfather trilogy. I would be very grateful for this information. All four of my Italian dictionaries do not have this word, and I am not sure about the spelling (I spelled it phonetically).
Cybernawns@aol.com
sicilianapachegirl...doesn't ring a bell with me.
phyllis...Glad you like the blog. These are all phrases (mostly bastardizations) from my childhood growing up in New York. I'm not familiar with that phrase, though if I watch any of the Godfather movies (they're among my favorites)I might be able to figure it out. I'll post if that happens.
First, let me thank you for your kind offer. Next, interestingly, I think a friend and I figured it out last night. After having searched the Web, and coming up short, I finally found a reasonable interpretation for the word pezzanovanti. If you separate "pezza" and "novanti," you get the following:
pezza = piece
novanti = plural of ninety
On one of "The Godfather" websites, I discovered that the ninety stands for .90 calibre. Naturally, "novanta" means ninety. So,a .90 calibre "piece" could mean a .90 calibre gun, or, a big shot. And the way it was used in The Godfather trilogy, seems to confirm this interpretation. When you watch the trilogy again, see if you agree.
Thanks again.
Phyllis
Cybernawns@aol.com
the word mamone was mentioned, but no definition was given
i had a good time reading these. i love italian slang, and can definitely appreciate the new york/jersey versions...too bad some of the other people that read your post didnt take into consideration the origin of these slang words. you said yourself some were rough cut.
come il cacio sui maccheroni!
Glad you enjoyed them Carmine.
Great blog!!
Reminded me of my Sundays spent at my Aunt's house in Garfied with lots of cousins, second cousins, olives, square white pizzas and my uncle Tony.
On yesterday's Sopranos, Paulie said to Patsi "We'll discuss this in the pistadore(?)" and they went to the men's room. I've been trying to figure out exactly what he said and the closest I'v gotten so far is 'piscione'. Any other suggestions?
Piscio means Piss in Italian slang. I think he is saying Pisciotore... Or, Pisser....
Yes...I think he's saying "we'll discuss it in the pisser"...the bathroom.
Hi, I think the real word should be 'pisciatoio' (pee-sha-tow-ee-oh).
About the meaning, your right.
The word 'mammone' means a boy or a man who always looks for his mum's help: 'mamma' means 'mum'.
The men in my mother's family always used as expression the sounded like,"Ma naw ja" when upset. If I said it, I was in trouble. But no one would tell me what it meant. BTW, they were from southern Italy.
genjr,
The word is probably 'mannaggia' (mah 'nah gia). I can still hear my father and uncles using it when they were ticked off. I believe it technically means 'darn' though some use it as 'damn.' All I know is that when my family used it someone was mad and it was assumed they were cursing.
This site is soooooo 'MEDICAHN
I highly agree that this site is so medican (if that's the way you spell it) since it does not exist in the italian dictionary. I was born in Italy and raised in the US. The words you are using are slangs or come from different dialects, from different parts of Italy. Some words are just made up by second and third generation italians. 95% of Italians in Italy speak the proper Italian, which they take pride in, considering it is such a beautiful language and to tell you the truth when they hear someone speak in a southern Italian dialect, they look down on you. I don't find this site offense, I find it comical. It is another misconception of what Italians really are like, just like the Sopranos and the Godfather. Italians have had the greatest minds and talents DaVinci, Bottecelli just to name a few. And by the way, I'm curious to know, is the created of this website second, third or fourth generation?
95 percent of Italians in Italy speak Proper Italian?
Does this means that only 5 percent of Italians speak their own Dialect, or that the Southern peaple who speak Dialect (which they learned growing up in Italy) are not Italians? I don"t think so !
A comare is a godmother. A woman on the side is also called a "comare".
Could someone please tell me what "fasanune" ( I am spelling from memory and phonetically...sorry!) means? I heard it in Caddyshack 2 (I know, my husband was watching!) He says in the movie it means something to the effect that it is a person who passes gas in the bathtub and enjoys the bubbles...I don't know if it's really a word, but if it is, I have some clients at my job who deserve this title...THANKS!
my grandmother was neopolitan and used to say a rhyme to us as babies, spelled phonetically...
"moosha mooshaella, froosta froosala..." i can't remember the rest - anyone recognize this? and know the whole thing?
I believe that pezzanovante loosely translated would be a peasant, which I believe would refer to an uneducated or unenlighted person. Someone with no sophistication, vision or understanding. Someone of no consequence
My family comes from the regions of Palermo, Napoli, Trapani, and Calabria. Though my family took it all the way to the Bronx a while ago. My dad is a such a class-A goombah that it's laughable, and seems to use all of these instances of N'Italian on a regular basis... he usually refers to pompous or unknown people as "Joey Boombotz", "Vinny Doot Da Doot", "Suzy Googotz" and the like. However, like many people have said, "ming/minchia" is Sicilian for either "cock" or "penis"; it's still at debate.
Paolo again... By the way, my dad is a frequent user of "mannaggia" (I believe it means "damn it"), which is shortened to "mannagg'" in his NY dialect. When surprised, he wraps up three instances of N'Italian... the result is "minchia madonna mannagg'!"
Paolo...that's exactly how my uncles would pronounce it too.
I got a huge charge out of your definitions! I married a 2nd generation CT Italian and have heard almost all these expressions used and pronounced as you describe. My late, darling father-in-law would smile devilishly when he toasted, "Va fancul!"
BTW, can you define "mehja (spelled phonetically/from memory)" stunad?
Can anybody out there clarify what
"CHIDIBEEP"(sic)MEANS? We used to
use it in the early 60's.
Alright -the variation in pronounciation is NOT slang. The southern Italian Dialects of Calabrese and Siciliano among others substitute "g's" for "c's." etc.
Cool blog. I read Mario Puzzo's 'The Sicilian' (very good by the way). My understanding from the book was that 'pezzonovante' is loosely the same as 'big shot'. Think of Don Cicci walking through the town during the festival-like a proud rooster...a man with real power. Yet in the book it was almost derogatory-as if it's someoen who thinks they have real power whether they do or not, and it sometimes leads to foolishness-like Christopher Molasanti shooting the pastry clerk's foot.
Very Interesting...
Someone managed to overlook the beauty of a very valid subculture to comment that the words on this list are not actually italian, but dialect/slang. Yet that very person used a word that's not actually in the italian dictionary(but slang) to describe his or her distate. What a farce!
I know this post is almost 2 years old, yet I was compelled to comment.
I am a culturalist of some sorts. Recently, I have been investigating concepts of subcultures, "adjuct cultures", and "neo resurrected" cultures.
I found this blog while browsing the web in search of the meaning of an italian american term that I have heard often. No luck yet.
I absolutely enjoyed the knowledge and anecdotal evidence shared here.
Continue to be proud of your culture and your combined heritage: Italian(albeit Southern or Northern--at the end of the day it's all Italian!) and American. It is the core and the center stone of your being!
eh........Madonn' Us Chi-Sicilian' (Chicago Siciliana) say Ming-k or Ming-kay! And how 'bout dis one, "GIUDRULONE.?" (JOO-DROOL-OON-AY). Another Goof or an idiot!
PaulieWalnuts
pezzenovante means a guy who weighs 90 kilos. 90 x 2.2 pounds = 198 pounds. This is a heavyweight.
Like a heavyweight boxer.
You don't mess with a heavyweight!
Some guys are light weight, they are tough but they don't mess with the heavyweights....the "pezze novanti"
How about, and i think it sounds out to, midigan or mitigan ( mid-e-gone ), meaning American, i.e. anybody not Italian usually implying a bland or wonder bread connotation - similar to the Amish calling anyone not Amish, English.
SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT "AZUPEP" MEANS!!
"AZUPEP": I think you mean "zuppa" or "soup"; As in "zuppa di pesce" (literal: fish soup). As I know it, it means seafood in tomato sauce, like calamari, shrimp, and mussels.
Vincent- A Midigan, anybody named Steve, lol! Madonne!
I grew up in Connecticut and mostly remember the foods being pronounced a certain way. My mom used to order pizza with "scum-oats" (scamorze). Then there's "ganolli" (canolli, YUM), "mootzarell'", "gollamott" (calamari). And pasta was "macaroni", usually served with "gravy".
We're not Italian, but had plenty of Italian-American friends. The nicest people, the best cooks.
I'm Anglo-Italian, my parents came from southern Italy to England, UK in the 50's.
Why is it that despite the fact I live in the UK; a country with lesser violence, lesser gang warefare and very little or no Italian Mafia activity than that of the US, that I often feel like I want to stick a fork in my neighbours fucking eye when they park their car over my drive.
I think this is the southern Italian mentallity coming out of me - very long memories and little respect for those that piss me off.
I wish I knew how long ago these posts were written, but here are my opinions/thoughts/memories on some of the posts:
Goomah is a Godmother [Comare], just like a Goombah is a Godfather [not sure of the spelling, Compare, possibly] - I had a Goomah Connie who had Baptized my mother and if you say, "Comare" fast it sounds like Goomah, the same applies for the masculine opposite of the word, Goombah, Compare.
And Managgia [phonetic: Man ah jah], I think means, "My Aggita" or "I'm gettin' Aggita" or "You're giving me Aggita" which we all know means heartburn, lol...and last but not least, Mincchia, translates to [everyone was close :-)] Dick, as in Testa di Mincchia, Dickhead...hahaha...that's all I have for now :-) and thanks for the blog, it brought back memories, I found it looking for Come su dici, which I thought was slang for Whatta ya say? but I still can't figure it out...
Ciao!
I'm not how to spell it nor say but is there such a word called menzagorsh? If so, how is it spelled and what does it mean?
"Compare" means your close friend, the godfather of your children, or the guy who is making you "cornuto" with your wife. Hence the expression by Don Corleone, "You never called me Godfather" (compare) even though his wife was the godmother of the baker's daughter.
"Mammone" is an adult son who still lives at home with his mother. It literally means " a milk fed calf". See the movie "I Vitelloni". It means the same thing.
"Mopeen" is a dish towel. "chadrool" is a cucumber, or a person with no personality or smarts.
Is there any truth to the idea I've heard that the '-gazzo' in 'ragazzo' is the same as the 'cazzo' in 'Sto cazzo.'
My Italian other half finds "sto cazzo" and "va fa 'n culo" inexpressibly rude and vulgar.
I do think that "sto cazzo" was an expression of dismayed surprise.
I remember my Italian teacher telling us, after she shouted it in class, that "managgia" meant "shucks" or "oh, dear." Like heck it does!
Pezzenovante or pezzo di novanta means big shot in sicilian slang, case closed!
My wife has used a Italian slang that I know is curse words, but she'd kept it from me. Can anyone explain what "guppety gots" is? I may be spelling it wrong. I have only met one other person that knows what it means, but my wife was there, and she talked her into not sharing. Please share what it means. thanks,
I was called "muscchina" as a child and would love to know the proper spelling, origin/dialect and true definition if one exists. I always believed it to mean "awwe, poor baby". Thanks!
I loved everything that I have read in this blog of yours. Brought me back to my childhood days growing up in Brooklyn, being with the neighbors and family memebers. As long as you lived in the neighborhood everyone spoke the language, even non-italians. Thank you for bring me back to that time.
I agree that Goomah is Godmother. However, it was used by cheating husbands who told their wifes "Hey I gotta go see my Goomah-she's not feelin too good. Don't wait up".
Can someone define this word but I'm sure the spelling is wrong so phonetically here it is .....pishcadoo. In the Sopranos it was used by Jackie Aprille's wife, for the life of me I can't remember her name this early in the morn. :(
Come si dice means 'How do you say...'? Usually in regards to asking how you would say something in another language. 'Scusi, come si dice 'breakfast' in Italiano?'
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