Is your shylock (who brags about being a big earner for the borgata) threatening to do a piece of work because you haven't paid your vig, and you don't know what the hell he's talking about? You've come to the right place. This text is taken mostly from The Mafia Handbook, by Douglas Le Vien, Jr. and Juliet Papa, © Penguin Books 1993, and an article in the 26 March 1992 Los Angeles Times by John J. Goldman.

• administration: the upper-level power structure of an organized crime Family, composed of the boss, underboss, and consigliere.
• associate: an almost-there; someone who works with and for wiseguys, but who hasn't been sworn in as a member of the Family.
• babania: Heroin, as in dealing. Lucrative but risky for mob insiders because if they're busted, long prison terms might compel them to cut a deal and squeal.
• babbo: A dope, idiot, useless underling.
• beef: a complaint or disagreement within the organization, usually discussed during a sit-down with higher-ups in the Family.
• big earner: someone who makes a lot of money for the Family. A LOT of money.
• books, the: euphemism for membership in the Family, since nothing is ever written down. When there is an availability (when someone dies), the books are "opened." When no one is being "made," the books are "closed."
• borgata: a crime Family; brugad.
• boss: the head of the crime Family; he is the only one who gives permission to "whack" or "make" someone, and he makes money from all Family operations; synonyms: don, chairman.
• Boss of Bosses; Capo di tutti capi: While no one proclaims himself the Boss of Bosses anymore, the press awards this title to whomever they feel is the boss of the strongest of the five Families of New York, who is also said to preside over Commission meetings.
• broken: demoted in rank; "knocked down."
• brugad: a crime family; borgata.
• burn: to murder; synonyms: break an egg, clip, do a piece of work, hit, ice, pop, put out a contract on, whack.
• button: a "made" member of the Mafia; soldier, wiseguy, goodfella, Man of Honor.
• cafone: a phony or embarrassment to himself and others; "gavone" (slang pronunciation)
• capo: ranking member of a Family who heads a crew (or group) of soldiers; a skipper, short for capodecina.
• Capo di tutti capi: see Boss of Bosses
• chased: to be banished from the Mafia and barred from associating or doing business with any made members. The punishment is merciful in that the offender is spared death.
• cleaning: taking the necessary steps (driving around, stopping in various locations) to avoid being followed.
• clip: to murder; see burn
• clock: to keep track of someone's movements and activities.
• comare: a Mafia mistress; "goumada" (slang pronunciation).
• come in: To go see the boss when summoned.
• Commission, The: the Mafia "ruling body", typically a panel made up of the bosses of the five New York Families, Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Colombo, and Bonanno sometimes with representatives from other U.S. Families, such as Chicago.
• compare: crony, close pal, buddy. Literally, "godfather" in Italian.
• consigliere: the counselor in a crime Family; advises boss and handles disputes within the ranks.
• contract: a murder assignment.
• Cosa Nostra: Italian for "this thing of ours," a mob family, the Mafia.
• crew: a group of soldiers that takes orders from a capo.
• cugine: a young toughguy looking to be made.
• do a piece of work: to murder; see burn.
• earner: someone whose expertise is making money for the Family.
• empty suit: someone with nothing to offer who tries to hang around with mobsters.
• enforcer: a person who threatens, maims, or kills someone who doesn't cooperate with Family rules or deals.
• fence: someone with worldwide outlets to liquidate swag.
• friend of mine: introduction of a third person who is not a member of the Family but who can be vouched for by a Family member.
• friend of ours: introduction of one made member to another.
• gavone: see cafone.
• get a place ready: To find a burial site.
• gift: A bribe, sometimes for a juror.
• give a pass: To grant a reprieve from being whacked.
• going: About to be whacked.
• going south: stealing, passing money under the table, going on the lam.
• goombah, goomba, gumba: Sicilian slang for the Italian compare; plural: goombata
• goumada: see comare.
• hard-on with a suitcase: mob lawyer; feminine: half a hard-on with a suitcase.
• hot place: a location suspected of being the target of law enforcement or surveillance.
• ice: to murder; see burn.
• joint, the: prison; synonyms: the can, the pen, go away to college.
• loanshark: someone who lends mob money at an exorbitant interest rate; a shylock.
• made: to be sworn into La Cosa Nostra; synonyms: to be "straightened out," to get your button.
• make a marriage: to bring two parties together for legitimate or illegitimate Family issues.
• mattresses, hitting the, taking to the: going to war with a rival Family or gang.
• meat eater: a corrupt cop (not exclusively mobspeak).
• Mustache Petes: Old fashioned or older generation Mafiosi.
• nut, the: mobspeak for "the bottom line"; also the gross profit figure.
• Omertá: the code of silence and one of the premier vows taken when being sworn into the Family. Violation is punishable by death.
• off the record: an action taken without the knowledge or approval of the Family.
• on the record: an action sanctioned by the Family.
• piece: a gun.
• pinched: arrested.
• pop: to murder; see burn
• problem: A liability, someone likely to be whacked.
• rat: a member who violates Omertá; synonyms: squealer, canary, snitch, stool pigeon, yellow dog.
• shylock: see loanshark
• sit-down: a meeting with the Family administration to settle disputes.
• skim: Tax-free gambling profits, as in the money taken that is not reported to the IRS.
• skipper: a capo.
• stand-up guy: someone who refuses to rat out the Family no matter what the pressure, offer, or threat.
• swag: stolen goods, also an acronym for "stolen without a gun."
• vig: the interest payment on a loan from a loanshark (short for "vigorish"). Synonym: juice.
• vouch for: to personally guarantee--with one's life--the reputation of someone dealing with the Family.
• walk talk, take a walk: to conduct a sensitive discussion while striding up and down the block to avoid being overheard on those pesky eavesdropping devices.
• whack: to murder; see burn.
• Young Turks: Younger, less traditional generation of Mafiosi. Less likely to live by the old rules.
• Zips: American Mafiosi's derogatory term for Sicilian Mafiosi.

This glossary has been reformatted from an original at the former <www.gotti.com> website, no longer online as of October 1999. The information is supplied here as examples of terminology stereotypically associated with the Mafia in the United States, and often by extension with the larger Italian-American community.