From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a
glossary
of words related to the
Mafia
, primarily the
Italian American Mafia
and
Sicilian Mafia
.
- administration
: the top-level "management" of an organized crime family -- the boss, underboss and consigliere.
[1]
- associate
: one who works with mobsters, but has not been asked to take the vow of Omerta; an almost confirmed, or
made guy
.
[2]
- bagman
: a person or paymaster designated to collect or distribute illicitly gained money.
- barone
: a baron or landlord.
[3]
- books, the
: a phrase indicating membership in the family. If there is a possibility for membership, then the books are open. If not, the books are closed.
- boss
: the head of the family who runs the show.
[3]
The boss also gets points from all family business; also see don, chairman.
- bridge
: threat of death; e.g. "our former friend is walking across the bridge".
- button
or becoming a
button man
: a mafia
hit man
; or someone who has become a made man.
- capo
: the family member who leads a crew; short for
caporegime
or
capodecina
.
- capo dei capi
: "boss of all [the] bosses" is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia who holds great influence over the whole organization.
- captain
: a capo.
- cement shoes
: a method of murder or body disposal, usually associated with criminals such as the Mafia or gangs. It involves weighting down the victim, who may be dead or alive, with concrete and throwing them into water in the hope the body will never be found.
- clip
: to murder; also to whack, hit, pop, burn, ice, put a contract out on.
- code of silence
: not ratting on one's colleagues once one has been pinched -- no longer a strong virtue in organized crime families. Also, see omerta.
- comare
: literally "godmother" in
Southern Italian
slang, usually pronounced "goomah" or "goomar" in American English: a Mafia
mistress
.
- confirm
: to be made; see made guy.
- connected guy
: an associate
- consigliere
: the family adviser, who is always consulted before decisions are made.
- Cosa Nostra
(Our thing)
: mob term for the family or Mafia
- crank
: speed; in particular, crystal meth.
- crew
: the group of soldiers under the capo's command.
- cugine
: a young soldier striving to be made.
- don
: the head of the family; see boss.
- earner
: a member who brings in much money for the family.
- eat alone
: to keep for oneself; to be greedy.
- family
: an organized crime clan.
- forget about it (often pronounced "fuggedaboutit")
: An exclamation; as the title character explains in
Donnie Brasco
:
"Forget about it" is, like, if you agree with someone, you know, like "Raquel Welch is one great piece of ass. Forget about it!" But then, if you disagree, like "A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forget about it!" You know? But then, it's also like if something's the greatest thing in the world, like, "Minchia! Those peppers! Forget about it!" But it's also like saying "Go to hell!" too. Like, you know, like "Hey Paulie, you got a one-inch pecker?" and Paulie says "Forget about it!" Sometimes it just means "Forget about it."
[4]
- friend
: "a friend of mine" is an associate, "a friend of ours" is a made man.
- G
: a grand; a thousand dollars; also see large.
- garbage business
: euphemism for organized crime.
- Golden Age
: The days before RICO.
- Goodfella
: A member of the Mafia.
- goomar
or
goomah
: Americanized form of
comare
, a Mafia
mistress
.
- goombah
: an associate, especially a senior member of a criminal gang.
- heavy
: packed, carrying a weapon.
- hit
: to murder; also see whack.
- initiation
or
induction
: becoming a made man.
- juice
: the interest paid to a loan shark for the loan; also see vig.
- kick up
: give a part of the income to the next up in the command chain.
- lam
: To lay down, go into hiding.
- large
: a thousand, a grand, a G.
- LCN
: abbreviation for
La Cosa Nostra
.
- lupara bianca
: a journalistic term to indicate a Mafia slaying done in such a way that the victim's body is never found.
- made man
: an inducted member of the family.
- make one's bones
: gain credibility by killing someone.
- mock execution
: to whip someone into shape by frightening them.
- mattresses, going to, taking it to, or hitting the
: going to war with a rival clan or family.
- message job
: placing the bullet in someone's body such that a specific message is sent to that person's crew or family; see through the eye and through the mouth.
- mob, the
: a single organized crime family; or all organized crime families together.
- mobbed up
: connected to the mob.
- mobster
: one who is in the mob.
- oath
:
becoming inducted
as a made man.
- Omerta
: to take a vow of silence in the Mafia, punishable by death if not upheld.
- one-way ride
or
taking someone for a ride
:
underworld
for an
execution
method
- outfit
: a clan, or family within the Mafia.
- old country
: refers to Italy when used by members of the American Mafia
- painting houses
: murdering someone
- pass
: A reprieve from being
whacked
.
- paying tribute
: giving the boss a cut of the deal.
- pinched
: to get caught by the cops or federal agents.
- points
: percent of income; cut.
- program, the
: The
Witness Protection Program
.
- rat
: someone who turns
informant
, snitches or squeals after having been pinched.
- RICO
:
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
. Passed in 1970 to aid the American government in clamping down on organized crime activities, its scope has since been broadened to prosecute insider traders.
- sent for
: to be ordered to a meeting with other mob members and being whacked.
- shakedown
: to blackmail or try to get money from someone; also to give someone a scare.
- shy
: the interest charged on loans by loan sharks.
- shylock business
: the business of loansharking.
- sitdown
: a meeting, esp. with another family.
- soldier
: the bottom-level member of an organized crime family who is made.
- spring cleaning
: cleaning up, hiding or getting rid of evidence.
- straighten out, getting straightened out
: becoming a
made guy
.
- tax
: to take a percentage of someone's earnings.
- The Commission
and the
Sicilian Mafia Commission
: two bodies, Italian-American and the Sicilian respectively, of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Mafia.
- This Thing of Ours (Cosa Nostra)
: a mob family, or the entire mob.
- through the eye
: a message job through the eye to say "We're watching you!"
- through the mouth
: a message job through the mouth to indicate that someone WAS a rat.
- underboss
: the second in command to the boss.
- vig
: Vigorish abbr. the house's or bookie's take in gambling or the interest paid to a loan shark for the loan; also see juice.
- waste management business
: euphemism for organized crime.
- whack
: to murder; also clip, hit, pop, burn, put a contract out.
- wiseguy
: a made man.
- zips
: is a slang term often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American and Sicilian American mobsters in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Rick Cowan, Douglas Century (2002), "Glossary",
Takedown: the fall of the last Mafia empire
, G.P. Putnam's,
ISBN
9780399148750
,
administration: the upper-level power structure of an organized-crime family, composed of the boss, underboss, ...
- ^
Rick Cowan, Douglas Century (2002), "Glossary",
Takedown: the fall of the last Mafia empire
, G.P. Putnam's,
ISBN
9780399148750
,
associate: someone who works with wiseguys, but who hasn't been sworn in as a member of thefamily.
- ^
a
b
Joseph Farrell (15 November 1997),
"Glossary of mafia terms"
,
Understanding the mafia
, Manchester University Press,
ISBN
9780719049002
- ^
"IMDB Donnie Brasco : Quotes"
.
IMDb
. Retrieved
14 February
2015
.
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Families
| Five Families
of
New York City
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East Coast
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Midwestern/Western
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Mostly defunct
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Structure
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Events
| Meetings
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Hearings
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Wars
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Trials
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Closely related
and affiliated
organizations
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Other topics
| Government
operations
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Crimes
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Related articles
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