greaseball

English

Etymology

grease + ball; derived from the fact that Italian-Americans are stereotyped as having greasy or greased-up hair, e.g. John Travolta in Grease and Saturday Night Fever.

Noun

greaseball (plural greaseballs)

  1. (US, slang, derogatory, ethnic slur) A person of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, other Mediterranean, or Latin American descent.
  2. (slang) A mechanic.
  3. (slang) A biker, a tough.
  4. (slang) A rocker or metalhead, especially one who listens to 1950s rock and roll or 1980s thrash metal.

Synonyms

  • (person of Italian descent): dago
  • (person of Italian descent): Eyetie
  • (person of Italian descent): goombah
  • (person of Italian descent): guido
  • (person of Italian descent): guinea
  • (person of Italian descent): wog
  • (person of Italian descent): wop

Translations

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