Descriptionary

sentence, compound a sentence having two or more independent clauses, for example, "The fire is out, and I am going home." sentence, declarative a sentence that states, asserts, or affirms, for example, "The dog is mine."

sentence, exclamatory a sentence that expresses sharp emotion, for example, "The dog got away!"

sentence, imperative a sentence that commands, as in "Do not come any closer with that dog."

sentence, interrogative a sentence that questions, as in "Did you see the brown dog?"

singular denoting one of a thing, as distinguished from the plural form of a word.

split infinitive an infinitive in which the word "to" is separated from the verb, as in "to really think."

suffix a form or affix added to the end of a word to alter its meaning, such as "ly" in badly or "ness" in fondness.

tense the verb form denoting past, present, or future, for example, "They were, they are, they will be."

verb a word that expresses action, such as "run," "hit," "sing," "throw," "drive."

verb, auxiliary a helping verb that modifies the meaning of a principal verb; for example, in the sen­tence I have eaten, "have" is auxiliary.

verb, causative a verb causing an action and usu­ally having the suffix "en," such as whiten, brighten, shorten, tighten.

verb, copula a linking verb, such as "be," "become," "seem," "get."

voice, active refers to the performing of an action by the subject in a sentence, as in "He painted the pic­ture," as distinguished from the passive voice.

voice, passive refers to the subjects of a sentence being acted upon, as in "The picture was painted by him."

mafia/organized crime terms and slang

administration the ruling members of an organized crime family.

associate one who works with the Mafia but who may not be "made," or sworn in.

babbo a stupid underling. bent car stolen car.

books, the the membership in a crime family.

bootlegging illegally copying of music, videos, etc., and selling them for profit.

borgata a crime family. Also known as a brugad.

boss in the Mafia, the head of a family. Also known as a chairman or don.

broken brought down in rank.

brugad see borgata.

burn to murder.

button one who has been sworn in to a crime family.

canary an informer. Also known as a rat or squealer.

can opener

a safecracker.

capo the head of a crew, or group of soldiers.

capo di tutti capi boss of bosses.

capo regime see underboss.

chairman see boss.

chased run out of the Mafia; banished.

Chicago overcoat a coffin.

cleaning slipping away from someone who is fol­lowing on foot or in a car; giving the slip.

clip to murder.

clock to track or take note of someone's comings and goings.

comare a mistress of a Mafia member.

compare a friend.

con a confidence game or swindle.

Cosa Nostra Italian for "this thing of ours," refer­ring to a Mafia family.

crew a group of soldiers.

don see boss.

empty suit a powerless wanna-be who hangs out with mob members.

enforcer one who acts as an intimidator and threat­ens, beats up, or even kills.

extortion the use of threats, such as that of burning down a business, to extract money from victims.

family collective term for members of the Mafia.

fence one who receives stolen goods.

finger to identify.

garbage business see waste management business.

gift euphemism for a bribe.

goodfella see mafioso.

goombah slang for a friend or compare.

graft illegal profit.

hit to murder.

hot place

a place under surveillance by the police.

hush money any money paid to someone to keep them quiet.

juice interest paid to a loanshark. larceny stealing.

loanshark one who loans money at exorbitant interest rates.

made referring to one who has been inducted into the Mafia.

Mafia an organized society of criminals, of largely Italian or Sicilian descent.

mafioso a member of the Mafia. Also known as a goodfella or wiseguy.

mobster a member of a criminal gang; a mafioso.

MS-13 Mara Salvatrucha, a violent gang from Cen­tral America that has spread across the United States and has become notorious for home invasions, car­jackings, robberies, extortion, weapons smuggling, and drug dealing. Members typically have tattoos with the number 13 or the letters MS.

off the record referring to a communication or activity conducted without the knowledge or permis­sion of the administration.

omerta the code of silence sworn to by any member of the Mafia, upon penalty of death.

packing carrying a gun. piece a gun. pinched arrested. pop to murder.