our small group stopped for lunch at a pizza place.
I grew up in southern Connecticut which always had a strong NY influence in speaking styles especially with the Jewish and Italian populations as well as other ethnic groups to a lesser extent. My mom's side is German Jewish, and only immigrated to the USA right before WWII. My father's family is Italian, so my last name is Italian, which was challenging growing up as it's a fairly popular Italian last name of immigrants that came "on the boat" to Ellis Island at the turn of the century. However my ancestors on my father's side have been in the USA since the early 1700's and spoke zero Italian nor really identified themselves as such. My grandfather was a music professor and had no memory of his grandparents speaking anything but English as well.
Growing up and going to public schools I as well as my sisters were constantly "buttonholed" as fellow paesans by others with Italian names which was actually kind of fun. However dad didn't appreciate that at all. He would cringe when asked "hey youse related to the blah blah blahs dat own da (restaurant, bakery, gas station, plumbing, ashfault paving co), etc?". Dad was an educated professional and didn't appreciate the assumed association with the "greenhorns". Sometimes pals and classmates would allude to a mafia connection due to our last name, and I would truthfully reply something to the effect "It's not the Italians in my family you need to worry about, it's the Jews".
On mom's side things were more relaxed and fun, albeit lowbrow compared to the more polished and sophisticated on dad's side. Mom's family came up the traditional immigrant way, clawing themselves up by their own wits and determination out of NYC's Jewish/Italian/Irish ghetto until they became extremely successful in businesses such as scrap metal/junk yards, vending machines and other unsavory enterprises in the NY and CT area. In essence they were into any type of business that the white man (wasps) eschewed, and hugely well-off financially, much more so than on dad's professional but upper middle class side of the family.
So basically in regard to the usual ethnic trends of the time, everything was ass-backwards in my family. In the greater New Haven area, most of the Jewish were highly educated doctors, lawyers and in other highly respectable vocations. But for me the "goombah" Italian side were well educated, drove reserved looking Mercedes or BMW's, while the unusually rough and tumble Jewish side drove Cadillacs, drenched themselves with gold jewelry and talked with "dees and doze". But mom's side also had that tri-state Italo-American vernacular down pat. "wadda youse guys wan sompin a eat ova here? Hey Jimmy, heerza hunna nols, go get some ahbeetz down at dat jernt on State st. and bring Freddie wicha, he looks like he got ants in is pants so give im sompin a do." Jimmy was uncle Hy's Italian no-neck driver/bodyguard. This constantly rankled my dad, along with pretty much all else. Uncle Hy as well as most others on mom's side were very crude, and cavalier with their money. "Hey Freddie so yuz graduated high sku huh? Here's a grand an Gobbless. Huze betta dan you huh?"
Back to the above quote on pizza, it was common in the tri-state area to call it "ahbeetz" back in the day, and still some do. I have even heard it called that in some areas of Pennsylvania as well. To this day I get great enjoyment mimicking the Dago vernacular of my Jewish relatives when at a family event on dad's side. The look of horror is priceless when I remind them of where I came from.
😁
