The vocabulary

Glossary

What the words meant to the people who used them.

The administration ad-min-i-STRAY-shun: The three senior positions of a family taken together — boss, underboss and consigliere. The term used in indictments and by members alike.
Beef BEEF: A dispute between members, or between a member and another family. Also, separately, a criminal charge — a man can have a beef with a capo and a beef with the government in the same week.
Borgata bor-GAH-tah: A family, in the organisational sense. One of the discrete units into which American Cosa Nostra is divided, each with its own boss, territory and membership roll.
Bust-out BUST-owt: Taking control of a solvent business, ordering goods on its established credit, selling the goods for cash, and abandoning the business to its creditors and to bankruptcy.
Button man BUH-tun man: A soldier at the bottom of a family's rank structure, and by implication one available for violent work when a capo orders it.
Capo KAH-poh: Short for caporegime. A captain who runs a crew of soldiers, answers to the underboss or boss, and passes a share of his crew's earnings upward.
Consigliere kon-sil-YEH-reh: The counsellor of a family, ranking alongside the underboss, advising the boss and mediating internal disputes without commanding a crew.
Crew KROO: The working unit of a family. A capo, the soldiers who report to him, and the larger number of associates who do most of the actual earning.
Earner URN-er: A member who reliably generates money and passes a share upwards. The single most valuable quality a man can have in the organisation, and frequently the only one that protects him.
A friend of ours uh FREND uv ARZ: The formula used to introduce a made member to another made member. An associate, however trusted, is introduced as a friend of mine.
Going to the mattresses GOH-ing too thuh MAT-ress-iz: Going to war. Moving crews into rented rooms and safe apartments, sleeping on mattresses on the floor, and staying away from home and routine until the conflict is settled.
Goomah GOO-mah: A mistress kept openly and semi-permanently, as distinct from a passing affair. From the Italian comare, a godmother or close family friend.
Made man MAYD man: A formally initiated member of an American Cosa Nostra family, sworn in through a ceremony and thereafter protected by the rule that no member may harm another without approval.
No-show job noh-SHOH job: A position on a payroll that carries wages, benefits and union credit but no work. The employer pays it to keep a site running without disruption.
Omertà oh-mair-TAH: The code of silence. An absolute prohibition on cooperating with the authorities or acknowledging the organisation's existence, applying to members and, in principle, to anyone living under its influence.
Rat RAT: An informer. A member or associate who gives information to law enforcement, whether under a cooperation agreement or otherwise.
Shylock SHY-lok: A loan shark, and by extension the business of lending at interest rates that are enforced rather than negotiated. The weekly interest payment is the vig.
Sit-down SIT-down: A formal meeting called to settle a dispute between members or families, held before an agreed senior figure whose decision both sides accept in advance.
The skim thuh SKIM: Cash removed from a casino count room before the takings are recorded, and therefore before they are taxed or reported to regulators.
The books thuh BOOKS: The membership roll of a family, spoken of as open when new members may be inducted and closed when they may not.
The Commission thuh kuh-MISH-un: The governing body of American Cosa Nostra, formed in 1931, made up of the heads of the most powerful families and charged with settling disputes and approving the killing of made men.
Vig VIG: Short for vigorish. The interest on a loan from a shylock, payable at intervals and separate from the principal, which is not reduced by paying it.
Walk-talk WAWK-tawk: A conversation held while walking outdoors, on the assumption that any fixed location is under electronic surveillance.
Wiseguy WYZE-gy: A member of the life, used loosely of both made men and the associates who work alongside them. Within the organisation it is plain description; from outside it is an insult.
Zips ZIPS: American members' term for Sicilian-born men brought into the family directly from Sicily, particularly from the 1960s onwards. Used with a mixture of wariness and disdain.