# mizzica



## andrealea

Hello everyone:

I am new to the forum, and do not speak any other languages but English, so I do hope that you will accept me been here on this site.

I belong to a recipe site also, and my Grandmothers recipe for Italian Easter Bread was recently reviewed, in Italian. My mother who does speak some of the language does not recognize this term, but did translate the rest of the review. The word that we are stuck on is "MIZZICA" what exactly does this mean, and what dialect or is it a slang dialect..

I am looking forward to your help. Also as been only English speaking, is there any ways that I can help or assist people on this forum, if so please direct meas to where and how. Looking for Italian penpal interested in baking and cooking also

Thanks

Andrealea.


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## Manuela

HI and welcome...yes is slang and means: "holy cow!!",
"geepers".."my goodness" and any other slangish words to express surprise
ciao


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## andrealea

Thank you so very much!

Now the whole review makes sense.  I kept thinking it was something like, great, magnificent, tastey, tender,( even omg, but knew an Italian wouldn't write that)
didn't think of  holy cow or that type of exclamation.

Thank you for your help,
andrealea


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## sempre imparando

Manuela, is this word pronounced "MITZ-i-ca" or "mitz-I-ca"?


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## Manuela

the emphasis goes at the beginning..and if you are sicilian the mi- is more like MMMMIIII-tzica


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## mzsweeett

Manuela said:
			
		

> the emphasis goes at the beginning..and if you are sicilian the mi- is more like MMMMIIII-tzica


For a laugh, if you listened to my family, they are Barese...it would be something like " OOOOOH-Mitz!" I spell it out phonetically so you can see the exaggeration of the ooh's. 
The more I learn here the more I love it!!!  Oh the proper way to say things!!
     

Sweet T.


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## Ceresetta

The only way I've ever heard it used is as an expression meaning something along the lines of "holy cow!"


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## walnut

Hi Andrealea and welcome to the WR Forums! 

I am changing the title of this thread in order to allow further searches for the same topic. Let me remind you to please give your next threads specific titles.

Ciao  Walnut


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## Alfry

andrealea said:
			
		

> Hello everyone:
> 
> I am new to the forum, and do not speak any other languages but English, so I do hope that you will accept me been here on this site.
> 
> I belong to a recipe site also, and my Grandmothers recipe for Italian Easter Bread was recently reviewed, in Italian. My mother who does speak some of the language does not recognize this term, but did translate the rest of the review. The word that we are stuck on is "MIZZICA" what exactly does this mean, and what dialect or is it a slang dialect..
> 
> I am looking forward to your help. Also as been only English speaking, is there any ways that I can help or assist people on this forum, if so please direct meas to where and how. Looking for Italian penpal interested in baking and cooking also
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Andrealea.


 
ciao and welcome here.

Mizzica... it's a word I haven't heard for several years.
I won't spend a second to descirbe its origin, that wouldn't be the case.
Usually it's used to express surprise, something like "wowww"

hope it hepls


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## DesertCat

Andrealea, I'm curious as to what context mizzica is used in your recipe.  Seems like an odd thing to include.

Also, if you want to help with English, you can go to the English Only forum


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## andrealea

DesertCat said:
			
		

> Andrealea, I'm curious as to what context mizzica is used in your recipe. Seems like an odd thing to include.
> 
> Also, if you want to help with English, you can go to the English Only forum


 


Hello Desercat:  This is how the review read after she tried my recipe:

"mizzica!!!! che bella ricetta grazie!!! saluti de ontario canada."

that is why I knew it was something on the good sideonly couldn't figure our what exact word she was using.  Thanks to everyone for the help in solving my dilemma.

Andrea


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## BklynGiovanna

Seems like I always gravitate toward bad words!   I've been communicating with a guy from Cefalu and will go see him for the summer.  I just want clarificatioln on what i can say in front of his family and what I cannot!

So, the words Mannaggia and Mizzica are okay??  Even out of a lady's mouth?  Would they be used to hearing this out of a girl's mouth or shocked?

I don't mean to sound sexist, like it's okay for a man to say it and not for a lady, but I'm sure many of you understand what i mean!  Growing up, certain things were acceptable for my brother, but not for me!


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## Monkling

BklynGiovanna said:
			
		

> So, the words Mannaggia and Mizzica are okay?? Even out of a lady's mouth? Would they be used to hearing this out of a girl's mouth or shocked?


I always assumed that, having been born & raised in Brooklyn, I have free reign to say anything I want.


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## Alfry

BklynGiovanna said:
			
		

> Seems like I always gravitate toward bad words!  I've been communicating with a guy from Cefalu and will go see him for the summer. I just want clarificatioln on what i can say in front of his family and what I cannot!
> 
> So, the words Mannaggia and Mizzica are okay?? Even out of a lady's mouth? Would they be used to hearing this out of a girl's mouth or shocked?
> 
> I don't mean to sound sexist, like it's okay for a man to say it and not for a lady, but I'm sure many of you understand what i mean! Growing up, certain things were acceptable for my brother, but not for me!


 
who can know that?
My suggestion is: don't say those words so that you can never be wrong.


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## BklynGiovanna

Good Point, Alfry  Thanks


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## Alfry

BklynGiovanna said:
			
		

> Good Point, Alfry Thanks


you are welcome, G.


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## archimede

I'm not sure about _mizzica_, but mannaggia isn't considered a bad word at all.

HTH.

Alessandro


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## Silvia

archimede said:
			
		

> I'm not sure about _mizzica_, but mannaggia isn't considered a bad word at all.


 They are both Southern exclamations.

Googling, I got 1530 hits for mizzega and 516 for mizzica, 789 for mizzeca and 228 for mizziga. I might be wrong about this, but I think that word started to be used in place of another stronger word with the same root, identifying the male sex organ.


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## Cloudy-aw

shirkuk said:


> Just one more question... what is "mizzica"?


 
Just one more question = just one more thread 
(you should open a new thread for each question you want to ask to the forum).

"Mizzica" (or "mizzeca") is a dialect/slang word, I think its origin is from Sicily.
I'm not sure but I have the feeling that it derives from the vulgar  "minchia" (= cock). It's basically a softer version of a rude word that can be use in a colloquial environment, VERY informal.

Same concept as "cacchio" and  "cazzo".

Ciao
C


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## Multilingua Franca

It's funny that someone mention "mizzica" at this time for me.  I'm originally from the "Hill" (the term for St. Louis Missouri's Little Italy), and my whole life my entire family and neighborhood friends would say "meeska!" to anything that merited shock, anger, or overwhelming delight.  
   For the longest time, I believed (and was told) that "meeska" was a lighter way of saying "minghia" (a very dirty Sicilian word referring to the male member and used in a similar way as "meeska", it's "minchia" in Italian).  Just for clarification, it's pronounced MEE-skah not MEE-skuh.  
   Anyway, so all my life, I've said meeska without another thought, just thinking it was an Italian word.  However, while I was at Thanksgiving with one of my relatives from Rome, I asked him the exact meaning.  He didn't know what it meant at all.  I was shocked.  I went on believing it was a purely Sicilian-St. Louisan invention for a diminutive "minghia", until finally I met a guy who was from Sicily, lived in Milan, and spoke Sicilian in the home.  I asked him to translate "meeska", and he too had trouble, but finally realized that I (and the rest of my fellow Sicilian-St. Louisans) was actually saying a vulgarized form of the Sicilian expletive "mizzica".  
    My cousin didn't understand because although his family is Sicilian, he doesn't know a spit of Sicilian.  
    However, this did not explain another phenomenon with "meeska" which is the prominence of following it with the word "rehda" (this version seemed unique to my family only).  "Meeska rehda" was always thought to be a 2-word phrase in my family.  We consulted language books for "reda" "redda" "retta" etc. to no avail.  Finally, I recalled the fact that Sicilian words like "beddu" have Italian equivalents like "bello".  The Italian "ll" appears in Sicilian as "dd".  Therefore, "meeska rehda" is possibly "mizzicaredda" and represents the diminutive form "mizzica".  "Rehda" ("redda" in reality) may represent a Sicilian form of diminution much like "ello/a" in Italian.  I would really appreciate someone's take on "meeskarehda"/"mizzicaredda" and an answer as to whether or not "reddu/a" or "eddu/a" is a legitimate diminution in Sicilian.  Any takers?


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## Ceresetta

I think Multilingua Franca is barking up the right tree. "-edda/-eddu" is a diminutive suffix in Sicilian dialects corresponding to "-ella/-ello" in standard Italian. I have not heard "mizzicarella" used so much, but there is certainly another expression-diminutive pair in wide use: "caspita" and "caspiterina", which more or less overlap the linguistic territory of "mizzica".


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## Ceresetta

This morning I talked to an old Sicilian guy at the local market (I live in Voghera, Italy). I asked him about this "meeska rehda" and he said that it depends on the town and the local dialect (we cannot talk about the Sicilian dialect, we have to talk about Sicilian dialects) but no one uses that anymore. Bingo! If you want to have definite confirmation you will have to find out exactly what town your ancestors came from and when, and then talk to some old folks there about the historical dialect your ancestors would have brought with them. As often happens, displaced communities tend to conserve an old dialect. I have heard of a Sicilian community near Toronto that speaks a dialect similar to one spoken 40 years ago in Sicily, but that no longer corresponds to its "modern" counterpart "in patria". Thus, although language continues to evolve everywhere, it evolves less in smaller communities because, I suppose, the smaller linguistic base (fewer number of speakers) means fewer sources of innovation. Thus the Sicilian dialect of your ancestors' home town charged forward under various influences not present in St. Louis, while the Missouri community tends to maintain a "fossilized" version. Hence, it is quite quite likely that "meeska rehda" is the Sicilian equivalent of "mizzicarella" as it used to be used some decades ago.


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## Sicanius

Hi Multilingua Franca, 

I am Sicilian and, at least in my area, we also say "misca" and the legitimate diminuitive form "miscaredda"...
I think both "misca" and "mizzica" are used instead of the bad word "minchia", although "mizzica" is probably more wide-spread in Sicily...


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## pax vobiscum

*Hello to all!*

*New member to this forum... and I came across this thread on the meaning of the word "miscaredda".*

*Well, both of my parents are from Sicily; dad is from Cassbile and mom from Floridia (I've also heard it called "Scuridia").  They both came to America in 1957; and didn't speak a word of English.  They settled in the south end of Hartford, CT and lived among the many italian/sicilian families that also settled in the area called "little Italy".*

*I remember my mom saying "miscaredda".  It usually was in reference to someone/something (feminine) unfortunate.  Kind of like... the poor girl, or the unfortunate kitten.*

*Mom and dad are still around; and they always have great stories to tell.  I always get a kick when they speak in their native dialect too*!


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## apn

I've always thought that "mizzica" was a polite way to say the curse word  _minchia_ to express surprise or excitement, the same way "cribbio" is used to avoid  _cristo_ or "vaffambagno" is used by kids to avoid  _vaffanculo_.

Sorry in advance for the curse words, but I would like to hear other people's opinion on this matter


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## Necsus

pax vobiscum said:


> *I remember my mom saying "miscaredda". It usually was in reference to someone/something (feminine) unfortunate. Kind of like... the poor girl, or the unfortunate kitten.*


_Miscaredda_ seems to be used instead of _minchia_ (see HERE)...
Couldn't be _meschinedda,_ the term you remember?


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## You little ripper!

pax vobiscum said:


> *I remember my mom saying "miscaredda". It usually was in reference to someone/something (feminine) unfortunate. Kind of like... the poor girl, or the unfortunate kitten.*


My Mum was and my Dad is from the Provincia di Messina in Sicily and they also used the word *miscaredda* to mean *poor, unfortunate thing/person. *


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## Sicanius

Necsus said:


> _Miscaredda_ seems to be used instead of _minchia_ (see HERE)...
> Couldn't be _meschinedda,_ the term you remember?



I think Necsus is right! _mischinedda_ means precisely poor/unfortunate girl, in the same way as _mischineddu_ means poor/unfortunate guy! 
(it also explains why _miscaredd*u*_ is not possible)


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## Global linguist

Mizzica - it means "Mythic!" & is, like many have said, "holy Cow!", or "Wow!" Derived from Mitica or Mythica in Greek.

As for Meeska, or _mischinedda, _that Sicilian dialect word comes from an Arabic adjective (like a LOT of Sicilian) - Meskeen (masculine) or Meskeena (feminine)... or, literally, "Poor in Spirit", "Stingy", "Mean", or "Selfish".

It CAN be used in the masculine as well. While living in Palermo, I often heard nasty men referred to as "Mischini".

The word is also still in use in Spanish to refer to someone with those character defects - "mesquin" or "mesquina".

It is a form of insult - a pejorative term.


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## Multilingua Franca

No way!  That's awesome.  Though we do say "meeska" as well, my family says "meeskaredda" in reference to everything whether the subject is masculine or feminine.  In fact, I think we mostly use it when someone is recounting something to us.  Perhaps after 2 generations of English, the gender distinction just doesn't translate.  I only wonder how the n became an r in our speech.  My granny said it that way, and she was FOB.


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## raffica

*Mi*zzica è un eufemismo usato al posto del terminesiciliano, assai più volgare,* mi*nchia, il cui significato è gia' stato indicato. Con tutti i diminutivi del caso.
In italiano, come sicuramente in inglese, si usano vari eufemismi che tendono a ridurre il peso di determinate espressioni. 
Tra i più famosi: *ca*volo, *ca*cchio al posto di ca**o, ma forse per questo argomento sarebbe interessante aprire un altro thread.


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## Global linguist

no, ma no! You are wrong, sorry!


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## Sicanius

Global linguist said:


> Mizzica - it means "Mythic!" & is, like many have said, "holy Cow!", or "Wow!" Derived from Mitica or Mythica in Greek.
> 
> As for Meeska, or _mischinedda, _that Sicilian dialect word comes from an Arabic adjective (like a LOT of Sicilian) - Meskeen (masculine) or Meskeena (feminine)... or, literally, "Poor in Spirit", "Stingy", "Mean", or "Selfish".
> 
> It CAN be used in the masculine as well. While living in Palermo, I often heard nasty men referred to as "Mischini".




I agree that _Mischinu_ and its derivatives come from the Arabic adjective. Being an adjective, it is normal for it to inflect for number and gender (hence, _meschina_, _meschini_, _mischineddu_, _mischinedda_, _mischineddi_).

I don't agree with the first etymological derivation... It does not explain the actual meaning of _mizzica_ which is exclusively used in negative contexts to express anger, impatience, or disappointment... Nor does it explain its invariance: it CANNOT inflect for gender and number, as already observed in this thread. It is an interjection, that's why. And so is the synonymic form _miscaredda_, which CANNOT inflect for the same reasons...


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## raffica

Sicanius, scusa l'ignoranza, perche' il termine "miscaredda", che tradurrei in italiano "meschinella", non può essere concordato? Oppure ho capito male?
E che ne dici della mia proposta (di cui non sono certa, perche' non sono riuscita a trovare riscontri) che "mizzica" (o "minzeca", come è assai diffuso qui al Nord) sia un eufemismo per "minchia".
Grazie per la tua risposta.
Ciao, r


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## Sicanius

raffica said:


> Sicanius, scusa l'ignoranza, perche' il termine "miscaredda", che tradurrei in italiano "meschinella", non può essere concordato? Oppure ho capito male?
> E che ne dici della mia proposta (di cui non sono certa, perche' non sono riuscita a trovare riscontri) che "mizzica" (o "minzeca", come è assai diffuso qui al Nord) sia un eufemismo per "minchia".
> Grazie per la tua risposta.
> Ciao, r



"Miscaredda" non significa "meschinella". E' "mischinedda" (da "mischinu") che ha quel significato! Io penso che "miscaredda" venga da "misca" che è un altro eufemismo per "minchia", ecco perche non concorda ed è invariabile. "Mizzica", "minzenca", "misca" e "miscaredda" sono tutti eufemismi per "minchia", quindi sì, penso che la tua proposta sia corretta! Essendo interiezioni sono tutte forme invariabili...

Ciao, 
Sic.


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## Multilingua Franca

Sicanius said:


> Hi Multilingua Franca,
> 
> I am Sicilian and, at least in my area, we also say "misca" and the legitimate diminuitive form "miscaredda"...
> I think both "misca" and "mizzica" are used instead of the bad word "minchia", although "mizzica" is probably more wide-spread in Sicily...




A thousand times thank you!


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## Papero

Hi Multilingua Franca

I confirm that "-eddu/a" is a diminutive in Sicilian. "Mizzicaredda" does exist as diminutive of "mizzica" , so your arguments are plausible. And I also read somewhere that "mizzica" is an euphemism for "minchia" or "minghia"


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## Blackman

raffica said:


> *Mi*zzica è un eufemismo usato al posto del terminesiciliano, assai più volgare,* mi*nchia, il cui significato è gia' stato indicato. Con tutti i diminutivi del caso.
> In italiano, come sicuramente in inglese, si usano vari eufemismi che tendono a ridurre il peso di determinate espressioni.
> Tra i più famosi: *ca*volo, *ca*cchio al posto di ca**o, ma forse per questo argomento sarebbe interessante aprire un altro thread.



I totally agree with you. No other hidden meanings.


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