When Sonny says to Clemenza: I want you to take care of that sonofabitch right away. Paulie sold out the old man, that stronz'. I don't want to see him again. Make that first thing on your list, understand?

I have always wondered what exactly is a stronz'?

wil.

Its most likeley a Insult.

Also I think he said Shtutz

"stronzo" is a very nasty term that translates basically to "turd," but it is much dirtier than that. it is one of the many, many italian swear words.

Also, what does Vafongoul mean?

Mike, I remember it sounding like strutz but if you look up the copy of the transcript by J. Geoff Malta it is spelled Stronz'.

wil.

By chance, where can I find that to see?

Vaffanculo is the equivilant to "Fuck you" or "Fuck off."

I aways thought it was "Stroonz" as that's how my grandparents say it. They said it means "asshole".

So many ideas of how the word is Spelt. Watch the DVD and what It says on Subtitles.

Does'nt Connie use Va Fongoul somewhere in one some part of the trilogy? I seem to recall her saying it but not exactly sure what scene.

wil.

Mike Sullivan here is the link to the transcripts:

The Godfather Trilogy

The word stronzo is spelled just like that.

Vaffanculo literally means "go get fucked in the ass," and it is the phonetic spelling for "Vai a fare in culo"

Thanks for the link and SHE DOES say it in Part I.

Its edited in the TV version but she says it when Carlo is banging whores.

Mike - I recall that now, thanks. Carlo says make my dinner and Connie replies "Hey, bafangool, eh"?


wil.

Yes, and it's "vaffanculo", not bafangool.

Yep. Thats for all you no nothings out there.

Don Vercetti, I understand what you are saying but I am using the spelling from the transcript by J. Geoff Malta. He uses Ba, probably because it is phonetically pronounced "BA".

wil.

Vaffanculo is such a popular term that it has evolved over the years. I have seen it as vaffangulo, baffangulo, a fungool, ma a fangool, etc., etc., but the original (and correct) is vaffanculo

Pronunciations can vary upon region, and spelling between Italian and Sicilian varies quite a bit. The XXX Italian Dictionary is based on Italian.

Stronzo - Stronz - Strutz - Stroontz - same thing
Vaffanculo - Bafangool - Fangool - same thing

(Any of you guys have a Sega? I still giggle when I see what that means in Italian )

what about Tomanouch? (sp?) i remember Santino saying that to Tom or Mikey.

GoodFella

I "play" Sega every day.

That's just a playful way of saying Tom's name. I don't think it's a standard suffix, like Mike/Mikey/Mickey or anything though but I'm not certain...

Sega. bad.
thanks for the info Don JG. i mean. . . the Tomanouch.

GoodFella

Whats Sega mean in Italian.

Mike, Sega is something like Strega only different.

wil.

Don't get hung up on Italian. There are so many dialects that dictate how a word is pronounced, spelled, and means. My people are from around Naples. So, as some of you say, "stronz" we pronounce more like struntz - yes, it does mean "he's a piece of crap". Vai a fare in culo sounds like vafungool or such. But,to me it always meant "up your ass".

When we were kids we used to talk about your "cule" or private parts. Capite?

Check the link Don JG gave . . .

GoodFella

Olivant, how about the term mingia or minkia. I hear that a lot, even on TV and in movies. Stuff like, Mingia, what a body on her. How does the word translate in English?

Thanks, wil.

I don't know the spelling of what you are spelling something like minage. But, it's more of an expression that in english would translate to "Holy cow" or "gosh" or maybe more like an expression of frustration or exasperation. If you saw a really good looking woman you might say it. On the other hand, if you had to explain something to someone for the tenth time you might say it as a form of exasperation. It's a little similar to Madonne which means Madonna (like in Mary the mother of jesus). Madonne is said alot too.

Olivant thanks that is more or less what I figured. I have asked other Italian speakers and most say it is not a real word. Just as you say an expression of some type of emotion or exclamation. Sorry about the spelling. Which brings to mind one more expression if you don't mind. When Paulie Gatto at Connie's wedding is looking at the Bridal purse he says 20 or 30 grand in a little silk purse, "Sweet Tonnado" if this was somebody elses wedding. At least it sounds like sweet tonnado, maybe he is saying something different like unfortunate, not really sure. Any idea what he means?


Thanks, wil.

I think that what Paulie says is "sfortunato," literally, "unfortune." I could be wrong, though. You might try checking a Godfather script, which can be found all over the internet (most notably, at www.jgeoff.com/godfather).

Wilheim:

Yea, there are some unique Sicilian words that begin with two vowels. But, its meaning in this case is a little like "darn it, if only that purse did not belong to the daughter of the most powerful Mafia don on the planet I'd try to steal it!" Hope that helps. Hey, did you check out my question under The Pink House?