Minnistritti

Documented word

/min-nee-stree-ttee/Noun

English

Main Street

Italiano

strada principale

The ultimate monument to Siculo-American linguistic engineering. The phonetic transformation of “Main Street”, even though any true Sicilian will instantly think you are talking about “tight breasts”, minni stritti, perhaps squeezed into a corset. For immigrants, it was the official battlefield for the Sunday passeggiata: the place where you wore your finest clothes just to walk up and down, look rich, and judge everyone with a sharp “talìa a chiddo como si cumminnao!” (look how that guy is dressed!).