Difference between revisions of "Chapter 7"
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'''a certain Bronzeville canary'''<br /> | '''a certain Bronzeville canary'''<br /> | ||
This would be a female jazz or blues singer performing in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Chicago’s (and Milwaukee's) cultural heart of the African-American community during the Harlem Renaissance’s Midwest counterpart, aka April Randazzo. | This would be a female jazz or blues singer performing in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Chicago’s (and Milwaukee's) cultural heart of the African-American community during the Harlem Renaissance’s Midwest counterpart, aka April Randazzo. | ||
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| + | '''''minghiun'''''<br /> | ||
| + | “Minghiun” (pronounced roughly MEEN-yoon) appears to come from Southern Italian dialects, particularly Sicilian or Neapolitan, and is related to “minchione” or “minchia” — vulgar slang words in Italian meaning “fool,” “idiot,” or literally “penis.” | ||
==Page 49== | ==Page 49== | ||
Revision as of 19:00, 5 October 2025
Page 46
Villa Venice was located on Milwaukee Avenue along the Des Plaines River in what is now Wheeling, Illinois (then in an unincorporated area of Cook County). It was designed as a lavish supper-club / entertainment resort, combining dining, theatrical revues, dancing, and novelty attractions (such as gondola rides) to evoke the canals of Venice. It was built on a parcel of about 18 acres purchased by Albert “Papa” Bouche.
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Gaglioppo
Gaglioppo is a red wine grape variety native to southern Italy, primarily grown in the region of Calabria—the “toe” of the Italian boot. It’s one of Italy’s oldest and most distinctive indigenous grapes.
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Being Wisconsin torpedoes
In gangland parlance, a "torpedo" was essentially a hit man — a mobster assigned to carry out assassinations, bombings, or violent enforcement for organized crime groups. The word carried a sense of speed, precision, and destruction — like a literal torpedo — implying that once unleashed, the killer was aimed straight at the target and expected to be unstoppable.
lascia perdere
Italian: Forget about it... Or, fuhgeddaboudit!
a certain Bronzeville canary
This would be a female jazz or blues singer performing in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Chicago’s (and Milwaukee's) cultural heart of the African-American community during the Harlem Renaissance’s Midwest counterpart, aka April Randazzo.
minghiun
“Minghiun” (pronounced roughly MEEN-yoon) appears to come from Southern Italian dialects, particularly Sicilian or Neapolitan, and is related to “minchione” or “minchia” — vulgar slang words in Italian meaning “fool,” “idiot,” or literally “penis.”
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roll a couple frames
Go bowling
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He’s got the biggest minghiuzza in the criminal trades, major league fungo stick
a slangy Italianate invention, probably from ‘’minchia’’ (Southern Italian/Sicilian vulgar slang for penis, literally “dick”). Adding the playful suffix -uzza makes it sound exaggerated, comic, or boastful — something like “the biggest you-know-what”. And “major league fungo stick” (a long lightweight baseball bat for hitting practice balls to fielders) reinforces the metaphor.
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