Zips

Zips (also Siggies or Geeps) is a slang term often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American and Sicilian American mobsters in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi. The name is said to have originated from mobsters' inability to understand the faster-speaking Sicilian dialects, which appeared to "zip" by. Other theories include pejorative uses such as Sicilians' preference for silent, homemade zip guns. According to still another theory, the term is a contraction of the Sicilian slang term for "hicks" or "primitives." The older Sicilian mafiosi of pre-Prohibition known as "Mustache Petes" (who eventually were deposed by American-born mobsters during the Castellammarese War) were also referred to as zips.