http://youtu.be/Abw84WJCfqo

The malocchio, explained in English. "The kid got better."

WARDING OFF THE EVIL EYE

My very first encounter with the Evil Eye phenomenon was through my paternal grandmother Rose Gombatto, pictured above at her engagement party, unknown year.

If you had a headache, it was believed to be caused by someone who gave you the Evil Eye. You would then seek out your local strega, who had the knowledge and ability to rid you of it through an age old ritual. In the late sixties, I once watched my grandmother perform it on my brother-in-law, a medical student at the time. She performed it in our kitchen, and my mom and sister were also present. I stood in the doorway, creeped out by the whole thing: lit candles, a bowl of water, olive oil, and a knife (no, she did not stab him).

I know my grandmother wasn't a strega, but one must of shown her how to perform it.

The way I feel at present - Feb 15, 2013, 12:06PM, I could use one right about now. I'd like to kill the person who gave it to me, since it's been going on for some 14 years now.

Many web sites and youtube videos are available, showing the practice of il malocchio -pronounced mahl-OAK-yoh.

SICILIAN-ENGLISH SHOES

Here's a sentence to comment on a nice pair of shoes.

Sti sciusi alluccunnu naisi

Pronounced as:
stee SHOO-zee ahl-LUKE- coon-noo NICE -ee.

Which means:
"These shoes look nice".

Of course if you say that to a native Italian nowadays, you'll get a look that might resemble the mallocchio, which is the Evil Eye.

More on that subject in later entries.

Signed,
goombadeh Gammetta.

MAMBO SICILIANO

This is one of my favorite dialect pronunciations: 'zheh-DROOL', meaning cucumber. It can also be heard in the song "Mambo Italiano" by Rosemary Clooney. Does it have a double meaning? The world may never know.

Proper word is cetriole, pronounced 'cheh-tree-ALLAH'.

SICILIAN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

The Sicilian - English word for these? Cirasi, pronounced 'cheer-AHS- see'. This is one I heard my dad use, and for many years I thought this to be the correct word. The proper is ciliegie, pronounced 'cheel-LYEH- jeh'. Very difficult to pronounce. Cirasi is easier.

'Cucuzza', pronounced 'coo-COO-zah', or more commonly heard as 'gah-GOOTZ'. Can also refer to someone who's not on the ball, as in 'testa di gah-GOOTZ'. The standard Italian word is 'zucca', pronounced 'TZOO-kah'. A lot easier to pronounce if you ask me.

Standard is 'pera' for a single one, and 'pere' as the plural. Not so hard to remember. The word my dad used was 'PEER-see'. He worked at the Public Market in Rochester, NY for many years, which employed many Italian-Americans.

Okay, here's a tough one - the word, not the vegetable. My father, as well as one of my aunts, pronounced this as 'kwa-CHOE-koo-lah'. It's one I remember well, since the standard Italian is much easier: carciofo, pronounced 'kahr-CHOE- foh'. Very strange to hear the beginning of an Italian dialect word begin with the sound 'q'.

These look delicious - Red, to be exact. The Sicilian dialect for these is 'pumu', pronounced 'POO-moo'. I can't figure this one out, since 'pumu' is the first part of the word for 'tomato': pomidoro. I'm thinking maybe that the immigrants thought they looked like ones and had no word for 'apple' - even though there is one: 'mela' in Standard Italian, pronounced 'MEH-lah'.

CLASSIC SICILIAN - AMERICAN

Any descendant of turn of the century Italian immigrants should know the word for this. It was later used as the word for 'toilet'. But first, the correct words are:

bagno - pronounced BAH-nyo, which could also mean 'bathroom' or 'washroom'
gabinetto - pronounced gah-bee-NET-toh, which could also mean 'cabinet' or 'washroom'. (reading it back, it sounds way too close to my surname!)

Now for the all time classic Sicilian-English word: baccauso, which is pronounced 'bahk-KOW-zoh'. It originally meant 'back house', which was where the above structures could be found. In his book 'Mount Allegro', Jerre Mangione told the tale of when he visited Italy and getting a very puzzled look amongst his relatives when using this word.

Other slangs for 'bathroom' are 'peesh-a-TOO-dah' and 'kah-kah -TOO - dah', but I would suggest not using them in mixed Italian company.

Recipe for Curly Fries