N'Italian-American Slang

A few weeks ago I posted my N'Italian Lessons 101. I got tons of hits to this blog from that post, and came up on hundreds of Google searches. Today I'm going to follow up with some English slang that is commonly used by Italian-Americans in the New York/New Jersey area. These are typically used with some of the N'Italian 101 words...in fact, some of the words are used by New Yorkers in general...at least the ones that I grew up with. I think I'll call this N'Italian-American slang.

whaddya talkin? Pronounced waddya talkin' or wuddya talkin'. It simply means "what are you talking about?" or "what do you mean?"

shyster. Pronounced 'shy-stuh. Someone who is a cheat or crook, someone not to be trusted. Often used as a synonym for a lawyer. See below for sample usage.

how ya doin? or hey, how ya doin?. This is a common greeting that means "how are you?", "nice to meet you?" or "how's it going?" A dead giveaway that you're a born and raised New Yawka. Sample usage:

Tony: "Joey, this is Vinny."
Joey: "Hey, how ya doin?"
Vinny: "How ya doin?"

beautiful. This has the same meaning as the regular English word, but is pronounced bee-'you-tee-full. You really have to hear it to appreciate it.

some shit. This means "hard to believe" or "can you believe that?" A variation is some shit, huh? Sample usage:

Frankie: "So, they want $2.50 for a lousy cuppa coffee. Some shit, huh?"
Vinny: "Yeah, some shit."

fuhgeddaboutit. This is pronounced fuh-'ged-da-bow-tit. It is a very versatile expression that can mean "forget about it" literally, or "no big deal," or sometimes "no friggin' way." Sometimes emphasis is on the fourth syllable, fuh-ged-da-'bow-tit, especially when context is "no friggin' way." Sample usage:

Paulie: "Tony, I'm a little short today. I owe you a C-note."
Tony: "Fuhgeddaboutit. Pay me when you got it."

Paulie: "Can you believe that bitch? Her friggin' shyster is askin' me for another $500 a month in alimony. You think I'm gonna' pay that? Fuh-ged-da-'bow-tit."


fuggin' a. Pronounced the way it looks. Variations include fukkin' a and friggin' a. This can have different meanings depending on the context, including "way to go," "good for you" or "I agree with you." Another very versatile expression. Sample usage:

Frankie: "You believe those Mets? Took both games last night. Keep it up they could make it to the series."
Joey: "Fukkin' a."

waddya gonna' do? or wuddya gonna' do? Pronounced the way it looks. This expression can mean "oh, well", "shit happens", "nothing you can do about it," depending on the context in which it is used. Sample usage:

Tony: "Thirty friggin' grand for my kid's tuition. In advance! Some shit, huh?"
Vinnie: "Waddya gonna' do? Schools ain't cheap no more."


are you shittin' me? Pronounced the way it looks. This means "are you kidding me?" or "you're kidding me." There are many variations. Sample usage:

Tony: "Did you hear about Vinny? Wife caught him with his goomah yesterday."
Joey: "You shittin me?" or "You're shittin me, right?" or "You gotta be shittin me."

badaboom badabing. Pronounced like it looks. See my very first post for the the history behind this phrase. Commonly used to mean "piece a' cake," "done deal," "no problem," "just like that," or "instantly." A variation is the shortform, simply badabing.

So, there ya go. All you need to talk N'Italian with a New Yawka.

Badaboom Badabing...

Left Right Left Right...

Okay, okay, so I lied. I was supposed to post a solution to this brain teaser almost a week ago. Better late than never...

When most people try to do the brain teaser below, they try to say the color but end up saying the word...or, they manage to say the color after some hesitation. Why does this happen? There's a hint in the title of this post. You can also scroll down to find out.


Look At The Table And Say the Color NOT The Word



Hehehe...this is the old left brain / right brain conflict

Your right brain wants to say the color
But
Your left brain wants to say the word

Badaboom Badabing...

I'm In A Teasing Frame Of Mind

The gout is almost gone today, so I'm feelin' pretty good...and when I'm feelin' good I love to tease. So, here's a little brain teaser that'll drive you nuts.


Look At The Table And Say the Color NOT The Word




Hehehe...finding it a bit difficult to follow instructions? Want to know why?

Well, come back tomorrow and I'll take the mystery out of it ;-)

In the meantime, I'm leavin' on a jet plane...


Badaboom Badabing...

Bombs Away

Well, the gout is almost gone. Hopefully I'll be back to normal very soon. The new medication seemed to work faster than the original prescription, but it's the first time I've ever suffered side effects from any type of medication. Let me tell you...the last few days have been pretty very rough.

I'm usually good at asking the docs questions about the meds they prescribe..."Do I take it all, even if the symptoms go away?"..."Can I take it as a preventative, if I feel symptoms coming back?"...stuff like that. This time, the conversation went something like this:

ME: "How long should I take the new prescription, Doc?"

DOC (deadpan face, scribbling on my chart): "Take it until you get diahrea, feel nauseous, or throw up."

ME (with a 'Did he just say what I think he said?' look on my face): "What?"

DOC (same deadpan face, still scribbling): "The symptoms may resolve before any of those things happen. Otherwise, stop if any of them occur and you can continue taking it after they go away, if you need to."

Like I said, I've never in my life had any side effects from medication, so I just chalked his remarks off to some wierd kind of doctor humor. Boy, was I wrong!!

So, guess which of the side effects I was lucky enough to get?

Give up?

Okay, I'll give you a hint...refer to this post's title or read on.

You know the warnings they print on the plastic pill bottles...like 'avoid alcohol while taking this medication'...stuff like that? Well, I've got a few additions I'd like to see them include for this particular medication:

• Buy a 12-pack of toilet tissue, extra soft, before beginning this medication
  
• Once you start this medication, stay within a 20-foot radius of (available) bathroom
  
• Head directly to bathroom at first sign of stomach gurggling
  

Uhh, I could add a few more things but...gotta go :-)

Badaboom Gurgle Gurgle Badabing

As Simple As Black & White

Do you see white dots or black dots where the lines intersect?



Weeee...I don't know about you, but this one makes me a little dizzy!



FYI, I found this over at Bit of Fun