The exclamation “crime in Italy” is a variation of criminently, or criminy, both euphemisms for Christ. This is part of a complete episode.
You must log in to post a comment.
Sponsored in part by:
Dessert Stomach 05/14/2018: Funny cat videos and cute online photos inspire equally adorable slang terms we use to talk about them. • Also, when a salamander is not... [more]
Far Out, Man 04/30/2018: What other names could a team use if they realize it's time to give up calling themselves the "Redskins"? Also, what should we call those... [more]
Brollies and Bumbershoots 04/16/2018: If you think they refer to umbrellas as bumbershoots in the UK, think again. The word bumbershoot actually originated in the United States! In Britain,... [more]
Cool Your Soup 04/09/2018: According to Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, it's important to master the basics of writing, but there comes a time when you have to strike out... [more]
Put on the Dog 04/02/2018: Why isn't "you're welcome" the default response to "thank you" for everyone? Plus lies that kids tell, Philadelphia lawyer, cowbelly, skutch, mind-bottling vs. mind-boggling, tsundoku,... [more]
Just wanted to say I picked this expression up from watching the Daniel Boone TV show in the 1960s. Daniel’s son, Israel, used to say it all the time. I was about Israel’s on-screen age at the time so I identified with him. He didn’t enunciate the ‘a’ in Italy but I thought that was just a woodsman’s frugality with syllables. It never occurred to me he wasn’t actually saying, “Crime In Italy!” or as I imagined it would have been written, Crime In It’ly!