Because I don't believe in seances

October 29, 2006 7:19 AM

Help me figure out what my Italian Nonna was calling me all those years.

My Nonna, who passed away 4 years ago, used to call me and my brothers a name. Phonetically, it's pronounced "sput-cheem". I don't know any Italian and haven't had any luck with translation sites. It seemed like a term of endearment, but she usually used it when we were not on our best behavior.
Can anyone tell me what this word means?

posted by NoraCharles to writing & language (6 comments total)

Could it have been "sfacim"? That sort of means "spunky".
posted by bcwinters at 7:52 AM on October 29, 2006

Here's a bit more of an explanation:
Having been called a "sfacim" by my uncles and other relatives more than a few times in my life, I believe your reference might require more elaboration. In its original form, "sfacim" is Neapolitan slang for semen — equivalent to US slang such as spunk or gism. However, it's also widely used as a term of endearment, as in "Hey, sfacim. Come over here and give your grandmother a kiss before I break your face." The closest US slang term would be "spunky." It's a term that someone living on Long Island or Upstate New York would probably hear a lot in Italian-American neighborhoods. One would pronounce it "SFA CHEEM."
posted by bcwinters at 7:54 AM on October 29, 2006 [1 favorite]

Thank you bcwinters! I think that's it!
Yep, she lived on Long Island and was from Naples, so it totally fits.

Thank you so much!!
posted by NoraCharles at 8:47 AM on October 29, 2006

and spunk = semen, too. small world.
posted by kamelhoecker at 10:07 AM on October 29, 2006

Don't we do the same thing? "Squirt"
posted by phrontist at 3:39 PM on October 29, 2006

The full (dictionary) form is sfacimma; the Dizionario dialettale napoletano says (I'm translating the Italian definitions):

sfaccià' [onomatop. sfacc-] intr. v. 'to become impudent, shameless; final moment of coitus' | sfacimma, fem. n., 'semen, sperm'; 'worthless man' | sfacciata, fem. n., 'pollution'
posted by languagehat at 5:31 AM on October 30, 2006