In the world of organized crime, it's not just about walking the walk- you gotta know
how to talk the talk too.
As you enter your career into the modern mob, Infographics has your back with this guide
to Mafia slang and customs.
The Kiss of Death
What could be more infamous than the kiss of death?
Made famous by the 1974 film The Godfather Part II, the kiss of death became an instant
icon of mob culture- there's just one problem with that, nobody's even sure if it was ever
for real before Hollywood made it popular.
To the best of our knowledge, the kiss of death may stem from the kiss that Judas gave
to Jesus on the night of his betrayal in order to signal to the Jewish authorities that the
planned arrest of Jesus could take place.
With deeply religious roots, it's not a stretch to imagine the idea of Judas' deadly kiss
being turned into a mob ritual.
But nobody is really sure if the kiss of death was ever a thing, and if it was, it's theorized
that the kiss may actually have been given to the assassin, not the victim, in order
to mark the occasion and wish success.
In this form we know the kiss goes back to at least the 19th century.
Mafiosos may have been using the kiss of death for the way The Godfather popularized it for
at least a while before the film came out though.
In the 1960s, Joe Valachi believed that he had been marked for death by Vito Genovese
through the receipt of said kiss.
This led Valachi to bludgeon another inmate to death because he thought the inmate was
an assassin.
Whether it was used as intended before The Godfather made it popular, or if the mob appropriated
it from Hollywood or other stories, today the kiss of death is widely recognized as
a kiss which seals its victim's fate.
Initiation Rituals
It seems like every organized crime syndicate has its own initiation ritual, a solemn affair
meant to promote unity and even a sense of family amongst the crooks involved.
The mafia is no different, but their rituals tend to take on a more religious tone- which
is really weird when you think about it.
A popular mob initiation ritual in older days involved pricking the finger of the man about
to be sworn into the family.
Then their blood would be rubbed on a picture of a saint, and an oath of silence would be
recited by the mafioso-to-be.
The oath was a binding promise to never reveal the inner workings of the mafia to anybody,
specially not law enforcement.
The blood-stained photo of the saint would then be set on fire, and the oath taker would
vow that if he ever betrayed his new family, then his flesh would burn like the saint who's
picture was on fire.
Given the number of mafiosos who immediately turned informants when facing a decade or
more in prison, we can't say that the oath was particularly effective.
What a saint has to do with sanctioning mafia activity though we also can't answer, but
we're pretty sure Jesus himself would've been against the whole organized crime thing.
Nowadays the ritual is rarely ever used, and is seen as largely a relic of the past.
Perhaps it was simply dropped altogether seeing how many mafiosos have turned informants over
the last six decades without catching on fire.
That's not to say religious-style rituals don't still take place, as evidenced by a
Italian undercover video which filmed a secret ritual in 2014.
(use video from https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-30104524).
Alright, now let's look at the mafia glossary for new slang you'll need to quickly learn
in your exciting new life as a prison-inmate-to-be.
Administration: This is the head honchos, the upper rung of the mafia corporate ladder.
It includes the bosses, the underbosses, and consigliere- or family advisor.
Associate: One step below a made man, an associate is a longtime partner in crime that can be
trusted and counted on.
Associates are typically turned to made men in time.
Associates can also be referred to as a 'connected guy', hinting at well-placed criminal connections
which could be useful to an operation.
The Books: a term used to describe the current membership status in a family.
You can't have too many chiefs and not enough indians, so if 'the books' are closed that
means there is currently no opening for another made man in the family.
If the books are open then this signifies that the family is looking to promote to made
man status.
Boss, Don, Chairman: The head honcho, the man behind the curtain in charge of an entire
family- or union of families.
This is the guy that has ultimate say in any mafia operation, and calls literally all the
shots.
He can make you a made man with a word, or a dead one with less.
Capo: this is a made man who leads a crew, or outfit.
The captain of the team if you will, though a family can have multiple crews and thus
multiple capos.
Clip: When somebody offends the mafia, gets in the way, or has turned rat, that individual
gets 'clipped'.
This means to murder someone, but other terms such as whack, hit, pop, burn, ice, and put
a contract out also mean the same thing.
This is one piece of mafia slang you don't want aimed your way.
Code of Silence: the unwritten code that underlies all of mafia culture.
This is the no-ratting clause in your membership into the mob.
The code is binding unto the pain of death, and dictates that under no circumstances are
you to reveal anything about mob operations to law enforcement- specially not in the hopes
of winning a reduced sentence.
In modern days, the code seems to be in tatters given all the mafiosos that have turned state's
evidence.
Still, talking family business outside of the family can still get you clipped for breaking
the code.
Confirm: This is the day you've been waiting for, when you're no longer a 'guy with connections'
or an 'associate', and are finally made a made man.
To confirm means to formally bring a new member into the family, and is usually accompanied
by an elaborate ritual.
Cosa Nostra: The original name for the mob, this means “our thing” in Italian.
Crew: one step under a capo, the crew, or soldiers, are the associates or made men under
a capo's command.
Crews can be shuffled around or improvised for certain jobs, but much like military operations
crews that work well together often stay together.
Sometimes crews can even be hired out or traded to other organized crime groups, most likely
because of a specialized set of skills that the crew may have such as being master safe-crackers
or in the modern world, computer whizzes.
Cugine: This is the lowest ladder on the rank, and is the term for a very young soldier who's
starting on his long journey to get made.
Eat Alone: A term used to describe someone who is overly greedy, or who likes to keep
to themselves.
A non-generous boss can be described as eating alone as he refuses to share the spoils.
Such a boss likely won't last long.
Family: An organized crime clan, such as the Genoveses, Gottis, or Sopranos.
While many members of a family may actually be family, many more are made men pulled from
outside of any actual bloodline.
Once a member of a family though you're expected to behave as if the family is an actual blood
and flesh family, often even more important than your real family.
Forget About It: a piece of slang with numerous different contexts depending on how and where
it's used.
The term can be used in agreement, such as saying, “This ice cream is incredible!
Forget about it!”, or can be used in disagreement, such as “This ice cream is incredible?
Forget about it!”.
It can also however be used as an exclamation of excitement when something is very good
or incredible, such as, “Gigli, starring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck is an incredible
film!
Forget about it!”.
However, it can also be used to tell someone to go to hell, such as, “You want me to
watch Gigli, starring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, with you?
Forget about it!”.
Garbage Business: a euphemism for organized crime.
When you're part of the mob, it's probably best to not publicly disclose that information.
Thus you might refer to mob activities as 'garbage business' while in public.
Goomah: A mafia mistress.
A woman who is not a family member's wife, but still has emotional or sexual relations
with that member.
This used to be greatly looked down upon in the early days of the mob, even seen as a
crime against the family's honor, but in modern times is largely ignored.
Heavy: to be armed, or an individual that is well armed or known for great violence.
If you're about to engage in a war for example you may discuss sending out teams of 'heavies'
to attack your enemies.
Hit: to murder, or whack someone.
A hit will often be carried out by one or more heavies.
Juice: the interest paid to a loanshark for the actual loan itself.
These loans tend to be extremely high interest, designed to give an extraordinary return to
the lender.
This is why it's common knowledge that you never want to get into debt with the mob.
Lam: To go into hiding, either on the run from authorities or after a big, high profile
operation.
Made Man: a full-blown member of the family.
Made men used to be known as untouchables, because any harm befalling them would incur
the wrath of the entire family.
Today, that's largely not the case anymore.
However, being a made man does come with a great deal of special privileges and respect,
including the chance to move into really lucrative cuts of the business.
Mock Execution: sometimes you just need to put the fear of death into someone, and not
outright kill them.
Mock execution means to whip someone into shape by frightening them, and can be useful
to correct bad behavior or make a very strong point without resorting to outright murder.
The next step up for a repeat offender is indubitably going to be a real execution.
Message Job: This is the act of performing a ritualized execution of sorts.
Typically this means shooting a victim in such a way that it delivers a recognizable
message to that victim's own crew or family, such as shooting someone through the eye or
mouth.
Today this can be any way of killing someone that sends a very clear, specific message.
Mobbed Up: to be connected to the mob in some respect, not necessarily just being a made
man.
Being family to a made man or having a good friend with mafia connections can mean being
mobbed up.
Points: Your share of any income or result of a job.
The more senior you are, the more points you get, with each point being a single percentage
point of the total take.
For instance, if you have 16 points, that means your cut at the end of a job or income
from any ongoing revenues is 16%.
Hollywood screenwriters often work in a similar fashion, often- but not always- with less
bloodshed involved.
Spring Cleaning: the act of cleaning up a crime scene or getting rid of evidence.
This can refer to everything from hiding or disposing of a body, to covering up one's
tracks in a ransomware cyber attack.
Paying Tribute: giving up a part of your income to the boss.
As don, every operation any mafioso in the family undertakes has to pay tribute, and
any unsanctioned 'off the books' business is very much frowned upon.
Sometimes, it can even mean death.
The don always gets his cut, period.
Shakedown: a term with two meanings, shakedown can either refer to the act of extorting or
blackmailing a victim, or of instilling fear in order to make a victim more compliant.
You may shakedown a local store keeper for protection money, or you might shakedown some
junior politician looking to make a name for himself by going after your family.
Shylock Business: this is mafia activity dedicated to loansharking, one of its most profitable
ventures.
Through the Mouth: A killing executed in such a way as to indicate an individual was a rat-
typically this means being shot through the mouth.
Now click one of these videos before we break your fingers- watch What Does The Mafia Even
Do Anymore, or click this other video.
Mama mia pasta rigatoni!