bitchin’ *glossary
For those of you unfamiliar with Italian-American slang, here’s a glossary of terms & Nadia-isms.
WARNING: Use with caution. This slang is extremely contagious and you may infect your friends.
All kinds: Many, a lot.
Illustrative:
Gino:“Were der lots of babes at da party?”
Tino:“Bro, all kinds.”
All worried: Used sarcastically to express a lack of concern.
Illustrative:
“Me, I’m all worried about Rachael Ray’s lawyers.”
Baccala: Salted cod, or a moron.
Pronunciation: /back-a-la/
Illustrative:
“Bro, forget about dat guy, he’s a Baccala!”
Bey yea!: An expression used to denote certainty. A substitute for “Indeed!”
Pronunciation: /bay-ya/
Illustrative:
Gino: “Did you bring da sangwiches?”
Tino: “Bey ya! My mudder made dem dis morning.”
Big pinch: A three-finger pinch. The equivalent of a ½ teaspoon.
Boh: Used when one doesn’t know the answer to a question, meaning “I have no idea.”
Pronunciation: /bow/
Illustrative:
Frank: “Where did Mary go?”
Tony: “Boh. How should I know?”
Bourdell: Italian dialect for bordello, meaning “chaos.”
Pronunciation: /boor-dell/
Illustrative:
Mother: “Tino! Clean your room! It’s a bourdell!
Bro: Short for brother, used to greet everyone, regardless of gender.
Illustrative:
Gino: “Bro, how’s it going?”
Mary: “I’m good, bro.”
Brutta figura: To make a bad impression, to disgrace. This is an Italian’s greatest fear … besides removing the plastic covering from a new couch.
Pronunciation: /brute-ah fig-oo-ra/
Illustrative:
Mother: “You better hide your tattoos at the wedding or you’re gonna make a brutta figura!”
Cac: Crap, low quality, not good.
Pronunciation: /cack/
Illustrative:
“Pfft! You call dat cac an espresso?!!”
Capisce: Italian for “Understand.”
Pronunciation: /ka-peesh/
Illustrative:
“I don’t care about your baby pictures, capisce?”
Casalinga: Rustic, home-style Italian cooking. No fancy plating, big portions, grandma-licious.
Common Mispronunciations:
Note that the sound for “th” does not exist in Italian-American slang. It is always replaced with a “d” or omitted altogether.
Illustrative:
Da: The
Dat: That
Dem: Them
Den: Then
Dey: They
Deez: These
Der/Dair: There, They’re
Dose: Those
Dis: This
Nutting: Nothing
Ting: Thing
Tink: Think
Togedder: Together
Tree: Three
Troot: Truth
Tru: Through
Disgraziate: A disgrace.
Pronunciation: /deez-grats-yea’d/
Illustrative:
“You call dat al dente?!… Disgraziate.”
Dishkombomballated: Messed up, drugged, or hungover.
Pronunciation: /dish-come-bomb-ba-lated/
Illustrative:
“When I woke up after dat party, I was totally dishkombomballated.”
Che cazzo?!: WTF?!
Pronunciation: /kay cats-o/
Illustrative:
“Che kazzo?! You’re an hour late!”
Handful: The equivalent of ¼ cup.
Hans: Bitchin’ Kitchen’s Scantily Clad Food Correspondent. He may be greased-up and chiseled, but don’t let his magical sheen fool you into thinking that he’s mere eye candy. Not only is Hans a bona-fide foodie, he’s also the respected inventor of a patented workout system that targets five major muscle groups through five sets of fifteen repetitions. He calls it: “Five Major Muscle Groups Targeted Through Five Sets of Fifteen Repetitions ™.” Grr.
Kerfuffled: Flustered.
Pronunciation: /ker-fuffled/
Illustrative:
“When my mom first saw Hans, she was kerfuffled.”
Ma: A word of many definitions:
1. Short for “Mother.”
2. Short for “Mannaggia”—an Italian term meaning “Damn it.”
3. The Italian equivalent to “But.”
4. A great way to begin any sentence.
5. A sound that expresses annoyance when words fail.
Illustrative:
Gino: “Ma, where’s da tomatoes?!”(1)
Mother: “Ma, you idiot! Der right dair in da fridge!”(2)
Gino: “Ma I looked in da fridge!”(3)
Mother: “Ma, look again!” (4)
Gino: “Maaaa.”(5)
Ma please!: A sarcastic turn of phrase that expresses disbelief. The equivalent of: “No way!” or “Get out of here!”
Illustrative:
Tino: “Bro, yesterday I had a threesome!”
Gino: “Ma please! Using both hands doesn’t count.”
Me I: A self-important, redundant way to begin any sentence that would otherwise begin with I.
Illustrative:
“Me I love The Kills!”
Mezze i piede: Someone who is infringing on your space. Literal translation: “In between my feet.”
Pronunciation: /meds E pee-ate/
Illustrative:
“Get out of da kitchen when I’m cooking, you’re always mezze i piede!”
Mi: Abbreviation of “Minghia.” To be used at the beginning of a sentence to accentuate your forthcoming statement.
Pronunciation: /me/
Illustrative:
“Mi! Never mind The Kills, me I love cannolis!”
Minghia: A Sicilian swear word for male genitalia. Depending on your tone, it can be used as an exclamation of surprise, excitement, happiness, anger, sadness, introspection … It is as versatile as “Fuck.”
Pronunciation: /mean-g’ya/
Illustrative:
“Minghia! I can’t believe it’s not butter!”
Mudder: Mother.
Illustrative:
Tino: “Bro, you’re 35 and still living wit your mudder!”
Gino: “So are you!”
Tino: “…I know.”
Gino: “So what’s your point, bro?!”
Tino: “I dunno bro, I tink I was just acting tough.
I’m sorry. Hold me.”
Musholite: Slang for “Mushy.” Can be used to describe a texture or a person’s character.
Pronunciation: /moosh-o-leet/
Illustrative:
Daughter: “Ma, deez beans are all musholite!”
Mother: “At least der not as musholite as your husband!”
Nadia G: Your Chefness.
Nonna: Grandmother.
Pronunciation: /no-na/
Illustrative:
“Every Sunday my Nonna would give me anise candy and twenty bucks.”
Nonno: Grandfather.
Pronunciation: /no-no/
Illustrative:
“Nonno would cut the cantaloupe and mumble a lot.”
Panos the Fishguy: Bitchin’ Kitchen’s Greek fish monger. Panos’s family has been in the fish business for generations: His father was a fish-guy, his grandmother was a fish-guy, even his great-grandfather was … oh nevermind, he was just an asshole. The point is, when it comes to expertly knowing ocean critters (or how to get that “wet-look” with hair gel) Panos is the master of disaster, bro.
Pinch: Somewhere between a ¼ teaspoon and ½ teaspoon, solipsistic pain and warm salvation.
Rimbambite: A derogatory term to describe someone who is confused or mentally weak.
Pronunciation: /ream-bam-beat/
Illustrative:
“When I told the network Bitchin’ Kitchen was both a comedy show and a cooking show, they just stared at me, all rimbambite.”
Ruvinate: Slang for “Rovinato,” which means
“Ruined.”
Pronunciation: /rue-vee-nat/
Illustrative:
Husband: “Yesterday I dropped oil on my jacket and now it’s ruvinate!”
Wife: “That’s because you drank two bottles of homemade wine and YOU were ruvinate!”
Salam: Slang for “Salami”, used to describe an actual salami sausage, or an idiot.
Pronunciation: /sa-lam/
Illustrative:
“Stop hogging all da salam, you salam!”
San Marzano tomatoes: A variety of plum tomatoes grown in the volcanic soil of San Marzano (near Napoli), Italy. San Marzanos are considered to be the best sauce tomatoes in the world.
Sciapite: Weak in flavor.
Pronunciation: /sha-peed/
Illustrative:
“You didn’t use enough salt, this sauce is sciapite!”
Scraggler: An undesirable person, a hanger-on.
Illustrative:
Wife: “Why da hell is Vincenzo always at our house?! He’s such a scraggler!”
Husband: “For crying out loud! He’s our two-year-old son!”
Shkeefoso, Shkeef: “It sucks” or “It stinks.” Can be used as a verb or an adjective.
Pronunciation: /sh-key’f/
Illustrative:
Mary: “I can’t eat gizzards or tripe, it shkeefs me.”
Gina: “Me I tink boiled brussel sprouts are da most shkeefoso.”
Shkiaff: Slang for “Slap.”
Pronunciation: /sh-key-ah’f/
Illustrative:
1. “If you don’t stop bugging me I’m gonna give you a coupla shkiaff!”
2. “Stop fussing over presentation! Just shkiaff some pasta on the plate, I’m too hungry!”
Shkiaffing It Together: Slang for “Slapping it together.” This is Nadia G’s alternative to classic presentation and plating.
Pronunciation: /sh-key-ah’f-ing/
Shkiatt: Slang for “Explode.”
Pronunciation: /sh-key-at/
Illustrative:
Tino: “Bro, I ate tree plates of gnocci! I felt like I was gonna shkiatt!”
Shkoff: To eat whole-heartedly; to pig out.
Pronunciation: /sh-koff/
Illustrative:
Gino: “Dat’s nutting bro, I shkoffed four plates.”
Small pinch: A two-finger pinch. The equivalent of a ¼ teaspoon.
Spazzing out: Freaking out.
Illustrative:
“Mary, stop spazzing out for nutting! I’m telling you, it’s just an ingrown hair!”
Spice Agent: Bitchin’ Kitchen’s dark and mildly mysterious spice specialist. He hails from Raanana, where the world’s best spices are grown. To get to Raanana: exit Ben Gurion, pass Kfar Saba, turn right, turn left, you can’t miss it.
Stinkpod: Both an insult and a term of endearment… at the same time.
Illustrative:
“I love you, Stinkpod!”
Teet: Mispronunciation of “Teeth.”
illustrative:
“I’m gonna punch you in da teet!”
Tsaketa: Nadia G’s take on the obligatory TV chef tagline or catch phrase. A sound effect similar to “Bam” or “Yum-o”, but cooler.
Pronunciation: /ts-sack-it-ta/
illustrative:
“Now that we’ve got all our ingredients lined up, Tsaketa! Let’s get cooking.”
Worstest: The epitome of bad, worse than the worst.
Pronunciation: /wurst-est/
Illustrative:
Gino: “Mi, Nadia G’s outfit in ‘Deflate Your Mate’ is da worstest!”
Tino:“Bro, you shouldn’t say deez tings…”
Gino:“l got no choice, she scripted dis conversation!”
Tino: “Good point, bro.”
Yammena: Italian slang for “Let’s go!”
Pronunciation: /yeah-men-ah/
Illustrative:
Mary: “Gina, hurry up and tease your bangs or we’ll be late for da wedding! Yammena!”
Ya okay!: Sarcastic expression that means, “Yeah right!”
Illustrative:
Gino:“When Tino told me his sister was adopted, I was like: Ya okay! She has the exact same mustache.”
Yeheskel: The Spice Agent’s given name.
Pronunciation: Unknown.
You’re gonna die: Creepy abbreviation for “You’re going to die of laughter.”
Illustrative:
“You’ve never seen Wonder Showzen?! Bro, you’ve gotta rent it, you’re gonna die!”
Zia: Italian for “Aunt.”
Pronunciation: /zee-ya/
Illustrative:
Nadia G: “When I was a kid I used to tease my Zia about her weight. With great patience she’d say: ‘T’impicca come una capra.’…Direct translation:’I’ll hang you like a baby goat.’ Since this would only egg me on, she’d have to pull out the big guns and threaten to never feed me one of her famous sausages again. Now that had me back-pedaling, fast. What can I say? It’s an Italian thing.”
