Stuta Jeet

Stuta Jeet

I may have mentioned in previous posts that Mrs. C is half Italian, half Irish.  It is, I must say, a very nice combination of cultures and genetics.

You might think based on ethnic reputations that Mrs. C would be quick to anger and perhaps a heavy drinker.  In fact she exhibits none of the stereotypes her heritage might suggest. 

She is not one to get into any altercations, she does not drink except for an occasional Kahlua and milk, which she usually does not even finish.  She does make great lasagna.

Anyway.

In the car, my mild mannered Mrs. C turns Italian.  She talks with her hands, and curses at virtually every driver on the road.  This ‘Italian in the car’ was never more clearly indicated to me than just the other day.

We were driving home from dinner and in between hearing that there were a lot of assholes on the road, many of whom were apparently sexually active assholes, I may have been my usual gabby self. 

At home when I can not stop flapping my gums, Mrs. C may offer a gentle request to stop talking.  She may even be so rude as to tell me to shut up, and I might even be called a jerk, but always in English. This day, in the car, Mrs. C turned to me one hand in the air and told me, “Stuta Jeet!”

“Stuta Jeet” means “Shut up!” in Italian.  Actually it is Stai zitto (Yeah, I Googled it). I think NY/NJ Italians have their own dialect.  She never tells me to shut up in Italian except when she is in the car.  Driving brings out her Italian attitude.

It is a little scary when she gets in the car and her Italian side comes out.

It’s also a bit of a turn on!