The term "button"

[B.]

Translation from Dr. Melchiorre Allegra's 1937 deposition:

I think that Angelo Giuffrè knew about me what I knew about him,that I belonged to the "button" and could, therefore, untie the problem.

- He is using "bottone" / "button" to refer to mafia membership. The quotes are used in the original document.

- Allegra was inducted in Palermo during the late 1910s and was aware of some US mafia activities, but does not appear to have had much if any involvement with US-based members.

This could point to the term "button" being in use earlier in Sicily and give us an idea about the way it was originally used, i.e. in this case the mafia itself is the "button", which would make sense given members are referred to as "button man" and "button guy", later shortened to call members themselves "buttons".

Sort of reminds me of the Morello letter from the early 1900s where he seems to be using "work" as euphemism for murder much like later members. I think a lot of these phrases go back to Sicily.

[ChicagoOutfit]

I was under the impression that some of these terms were made up in The Godfather novel by Puzo...”make your bones” and “button man” among them.

Please correct me if I’m wrong bc I cannot recall where I read this.

[Eld]

I associate the term "button" with the buttons, usualy larger and shiny, on older army uniforms, as related to the term "soldato/soldier" used in the mafia. Just a theory however.

[thekiduknow]

I was under the impression that some of these terms were made up in The Godfather novel by Puzo...”make your bones” and “button man” among them.

Please correct me if I’m wrong bc I cannot recall where I read this.

Valachi, Scarpa, and other informants used the term "button man" to describe made members in 1960s. I feel like I've seen "Make your bones", or "make ones bones" in an FBI file somewhere but cant' fully recall.

[B.]

A 1961 FBI report uses the term "button" and says it had been in common use on the East Coast for a number of years. The report was created in context with the Ray DeCarlo tapes, so they likely heard Genovese members using it.

Allegra's use of "bottone" doesn't come across like a figure of speech he invented for his deposition, but a phrase they used in mafia circles. It may have been a phrase used in Palermo, which could explain why it became popular in NYC given all the Palermitans.

[Philly d]

I always assumed that it comes from the boss can push a button and a soldier is going to make someone disappear. My uncle would call made guys "button men" but I havent heard it anywhere else.

[Antiliar]

The earliest example of "button man" in common use was around September 10, 1963, apparently from Joe Valachi. Before that the phrase meant someone in a political campaign who gives out or wears political buttons, and before that it was more literal, so a button man was someone who manufactured or designed actual buttons.

The phrase "making one's bones" dates in the media back to the first Godfather film in 1972, although it's in the 1969 novel.

[B.]

From the November 1961 report:



Not only had the FBI heard the term, but they completely understood what it meant and how the phrase was used by this time.

Appears the entire NYC/NJ area was using it regularly since the 1950s. If Allegra is any indication, it goes back further.

--

Some of the other terms for members are worth looking at, too:

Picciotti - Supposedly in use in Sicily by 1860. An Italian report cites an 1848 account of "picciotti" being used in mafia stongholds like San Giusppe Iato. Continued to be used by old timers in the US through the 1960s, as evidenced by wiretaps. Still in use in Sicily.

Gentiluomo - Mentioned in the same 1848 account of early mafia terms found in Palermo villages. Translates to "gentleman", so probably a sort of precursor to terms like "man of honor" and "goodfella".

Goodfella - Unknown when it came into common use, but obviously a common English phrase (goodfellow) used as a euphemism. Not far off from the earlier "gentiluomo", either.

Wiseguy - Same as above -- not sure the origin. Usually a sarcastic phrase, but came into common use in NYC/NJ.

(Note: I used to think goodfella and wiseguy were general terms for anyone involved in the life, member or associate, but Massino clarified they refer specifically to made members)

Man of honor - Gentile uses this a few times in his book, but seems to be referring to behavior/conduct, not membership. Doesn't seem to have taken off in the US like in Sicily. This has become the standard way to describe Sicilian mafia members.

Friend / Amici - You hear this more in the US, but 1930s pentito Scavuzzo says when he became a member in Sicily he was introduced to the other "amici". Became the main way to introduce and refer to US mafia members.

Brother / Fratello - Typical fraternal society language. The Sicilian mafia itself often used terms like fratellanza / fratuzzi (brotherhood / brothers) for the organization and early pentito Allegra uses this term for members. At some point "amici" and "amico nostra" took its place, at least in the US.

Made Man - Seems to have been a common phrase by the 1950s. Did "making" someone as a euphemism for induction come first, or did the term "made man" come first? There are examples of mafia members using "made" to refer to a promotion as well as induction. The term "combined" in reference to induction was also used in Sicily.

[Teddy Persico]

Made Man - Seems to have been a common phrase by the 1950s. Did "making" someone as a euphemism for induction come first, or did the term "made man" come first? There are examples of mafia members using "made" to refer to a promotion as well as induction. The term "combined" in reference to induction was also used in Sicily.

To be a made man "placed beyond the reach of want, assured of reward or success" is in Marlowe's "Faust" (1590). To have it made (1955) is American English colloquial.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/made

[Antiliar]

Compare - literally "co-father," often used to designate the relationship between made members.

Cugino - "cousin," and older term that derives from Freemasonry; "Good cousin" was also used.

Capo, capodecina, etc., first described at the Favara maxi-trial of 1885. Fratellanza as a general person label for "Mafia" was discovered then.

[eboli]

From the November 1961 report:



Not only had the FBI heard the term, but they completely understood what it meant and how the phrase was used by this time.

Appears the entire NYC/NJ area was using it regularly since the 1950s. If Allegra is any indication, it goes back further.

It's definitely an earlier term than previously thought. It's likely an Americanized version of 'bottone', that found its use in America. The term began appearing in federal documents in the mid to late 1940s. By the mid-1950s, law enforcement learned that a 'button man' is a popular reference for mafia members. It wasn't strictly a regular NY/NJ slang, it was nationwide. Some pre-1960s examples:

1111.jpg

A mid-1950s reference from James Plumeri's files.

42352.jpg

A 1959 information on Sal Granello's activities, establishing a link between the terms 'button man' and 'made man'.

5454.jpg

Late 1950s report on the LaRocca crime family, mentioning how the term 'button man' had become synonymous with mafia members.

[PolackTony]

From the November 1961 report:



Not only had the FBI heard the term, but they completely understood what it meant and how the phrase was used by this time.

Appears the entire NYC/NJ area was using it regularly since the 1950s. If Allegra is any indication, it goes back further.

It's definitely an earlier term than previously thought. It's likely an Americanized version of 'bottone', that found its use in America. The term began appearing in federal documents in the mid to late 1940s. By the mid-1950s, law enforcement learned that a 'button man' is a popular reference for mafia members. It wasn't strictly a regular NY/NJ slang, it was nationwide. Some pre-1960s examples:


1111.jpg

A mid-1950s reference from James Plumeri's files.


42352.jpg

A 1959 information on Sal Granello's activities, establishing a link between the terms 'button man' and 'made man'.


5454.jpg

Late 1950s report on the LaRocca crime family, mentioning how the term 'button man' had become synonymous with mafia members.

There was a 1960s or 70s Chicago CI who also stated that “button man” was used to denote mafia membership in Chicago.

[Ivan]

Wiseguy - Same as above -- not sure the origin. Usually a sarcastic phrase, but came into common use in NYC/NJ.

(Note: I used to think goodfella and wiseguy were general terms for anyone involved in the life, member or associate, but Massino clarified they refer specifically to made members)

For whatever it's worth (probably not a lot), Henry Hill if I remember correctly indiscriminately referred to every made and non-made mobster as a "wiseguy" and he is the eponymous, uh, "hero" of his book that uses the term as its title.

One origin theory for "wiseguy" I've heard or read (can't remember where) is that mobsters are getting over suckers in the 9 to 5 working life in a "clever" or "wise" way and are therefore "wiseguys".

[cavita]

Seemed a Chicago informant used the term "button men" to describe some Rockford LCN members in this 1966 FBI file.

[PolackTony]

Seemed a Chicago informant used the term "button men" to describe some Rockford LCN members in this 1966 FBI file.

Nice find. Maybe it’s the same Chicago CI who noted that “button man” was used in Chicago.

Also, my impression has been that “wiseguy” was used in Chicago as well, but I’m not sure when exactly it went in or out of fashion. I also don’t know if it was used to refer specifically to made guys, or if it was also used to refer to “Outfit guys” (associate-“soldiers” belonging to a made guy’s crew). I don’t have the transcripts handy, but I recall that Frank Schweihs used “wiseguy” when he was recorded by Red Wemette back in the 1980’s, in the context of instructing Red to let the German know if any “wiseguys” tried to show up and collect from, or put the arm on, Red (since Lombardo was in the can Schweihs was told to look out for Wemette).