Italians
People from Italy, a country in Southern Europe on the Mediterranean Sea.
| Term | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Black Dagos | Believed that some Sicilians are part Black. | |
| Bologna | Reference to Bologna, Italy. | |
| Brown Pants/Shirts | From the color of their uniforms in WWII. American GIs said the brown hid the stains when Italian soldiers soiled themselves on the battlefield. | |
| Burnt Pizza | Slur towards dark skinned Italians. | |
| Calzone | Refers to the calzone, an Italian food. | |
| Dago | Slang for Italian, thought to derive from the Spanish name "Diego." See: Wop. | |
| Dagowop | Combination of two slurs. | |
| Fonzie | "Happy Days" character Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli. | |
| Garlic Bread | Refers to garlic bread, an Italian-American food. | |
| Garlic Breath | They eat a lot of highly spiced dishes seasoned with garlic. | |
| Geep | From Geppetto, Pinocchio's "father," who was Italian. | |
| Gina | Female version of "Gino." | |
| Ginny | In reference to popular Italian garb, "Guinea Ts," now more commonly known as wife-beater shirts. | |
| Gino | Common Italian name. A Toronto municipal politician once got into hot water for using this slur. | |
| Ginzo | From "Guinea." | |
| Goombah | Used against Italian Americans. From the southern Italian dialect word "cumpà" or "compare," meaning friend or godfather. Associated with organized crime stereotypes of Italian Americans. | |
| Grape-Smasher | Smash grapes with their feet to make wine, hence "grape smasher." | |
| Grape-Stomper | Refers to the traditional treading of grapes to make wine. | |
| Grease Ball | Multiple origins. The most common is the claim that Italians have abnormally oily skin. | |
| Guido | Northern term referring to Italians who try to portray a mafia mentality. The feminine version is "Guidette." | |
| Guinea Pig | An overweight Italian. | |
| Guinea/Ginney | Pronounced "gi-nee." Came from "Guinea Negro" and originally referred to any Black person or person of mixed ancestry. This dates back to the 1740s. By the 1890s it was being applied to Italians. | |
| Hightalians | Spoiled, rich, brownnosing Italians. | |
| Hothead | Italian men are said to be very short-tempered and hotheaded. | |
| I-Tie | Old-fashioned epithet, derived from the first two syllables of "Italian" with a corruption of the second syllable. | |
| IROC | Stands for "Italian Retards Out Cruising." IROC Camaros are popular among East Coast Italians. | |
| Jabonee | Used against Italian Americans, particularly new immigrants. Possibly derived from the Italian gavone meaning a crude or uncultured person. | |
| Katzenfresser | German slur meaning "cat eater." | |
| Laposta | Italian term used against Italian immigrants, suggesting they are country folk or peasants, typically from southern Italy. | |
| Luigi | Famous Italian video game plumber. Used to refer to tall, thin Italians. | |
| Macaroni | The famous macaroni noodle originated in Italy. | |
| Makaronifresser | German. "Fressen" is an impolite term for eating (people "essen," but animals "fressen"). | |
| Mario | Famous Italian video game plumber. Used to refer to fat Italians. | |
| Meatball | Refers to the Italian food meatball. | |
| Mingia | In the Sicilian dialect it means "dick." | |
| Pizza Nigger | Italians are said to wholly enjoy pizza, as it is considered their national dish to the rest of the world. | |
| Polentone | Northern Italians, because of the polenta they eat in the north. It came in response to their use of "terrone" for Southern Italians. | |
| Provolone | Italian Americans who act "overly Italian" with attitude and gold chains (i.e., cheesy). | |
| Ragu | Ragú is a brand of spaghetti sauce. | |
| Rizzo | Rizzo's pasta sauce advertises on dumpsters. | |
| Salami | Italian body odor is said to be reminiscent of salami. | |
| Spaghetti Vender | Refers to Italians selling spaghetti. | |
| Spaghetti-Slurper | Popular Italian dish and method of eating said dish. | |
| Spaghetti-Twister | Popular Italian dish and method of eating said dish. | |
| Spaghetto | Italians who act Black. | |
| Spider | Reference to a character in the film "Goodfellas." | |
| Stallion | Like in the movie "Rocky": Rocky, an Italian, was known as the "Italian Stallion." | |
| Terrone | Northern Italian slur for Southern Italians. Derives from the Italian word terra meaning earth or land, implying Southern Italians are backward peasants tied to the land. | |
| Tony | Started when there was a big Italian emigration to the U.S. Their luggage would say "TO NY" (New York). | |
| Tony Soprano | Suggests that all Italians are in the mob. | |
| Wallione | Used when addressing a fellow Italian, but condescending when used by non-Italians. | |
| Whopper | Basically the idea of "wop" in a more easily said slur. | |
| Wonder Bread Wop | Used by Italians to describe Italians who are more assimilated into North American culture. | |
| WOP | Offensive slur against Italians and Italian Americans. Commonly said to stand for With Out Papers, referring to Italian immigrants who arrived without documentation, though this backronym is disputed. May derive from guappo, Neapolitan slang for a bold or showy person, or from the Italian dialectal word for wasp. | |
| Zip | Used by some Italian Americans to refer to new Italian immigrants because of how fast they speak the old language. |