An anti-semitic dog whistle phrase. Used when encountering someone who is Jewish. It is a play on the "Italian's aren't Jewish" joke, see the relevant family guy skit. The phrase itself is ironically derived from the title of a song, He Thought He was Italian by The Barcelona Gypsy Klezmer Orchestra, this song is a very Jewish, Klezmer song. It is unclear whether the two "He's" mentioned in the title are two different people(ie, someone thought that another person was Italian and they were actually Jewish) or if it is both the same man(ie, a person from Italy is unaware of their Jewish ancestry.
by Tourniquette October 28, 2025
Get the He thought he was Italianmug.