Italian for either "This thing of ours" or "Our Thing" depending on who's translating. Used as a euphemism for the Italian mafia.
by Jimmy February 6, 2005
"Our thing" or "this thing of ours" derived from Italian. Although it does not symbolize any "Mafia" because such an organization never existed. With the mass immigration of Southern Europeans during 1917, a large portion of the nationality groups included Italians and Sicilians. Many of these men wished to leave behind a life of hopeless dreams and poverty so they seized this land of opportunity becoming involved in what many Americans like to call, "organized crime." Such men included Joe Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano, the "Moustache Petes." For over 70 plus years, these men would prove to reign very prosperously. Some men such as the brilliant Carlo Gambino, led their families or "crews" towards harmless business ventures. Ventures including gambling, protection, and various legal businesses. Others became involved with lucrative, yet immoral and dangerous businesses such as narcotics distribution and business extortion. However, to regard these people as the "Mafia" is an act of discrimination because the word itself holds such infamous representations. It has the same effect of calling a black man a nigger. These men are not criminals, but smart individuals that held the common sense to give up a never-ending life of scrubbing toilets and assembly lines, making a couple of cents within a whole day's work.
These men aren't criminals. The police will murder to uphold the law. These men kill to uphold their own laws. They're only on opposite sides of the fence. Then again, the government and laws claim it is wrong. If you think about it, the government is composed of men and women just like you and me. Just because the government states what is right and wrong doesn't make it so. They don't necessarily own this land, but every individual living here owns this land. There have been many people who supposedly owned N. America throughout the past, and if there were to be definitive owners, they would be the first settlers. The government only exists to maintain the safety of people. In reality, no man has more power over another man.
by Insignificant July 4, 2005
the name for mainly the american mafia, also other offshore italian based mafia organizations, aswell as the huddersfield mafia in england known as the tetsuo family.
by ntfx April 3, 2003
