Editing Zips (section)

{{Short description|Slang term used by Italian American mobsters to refer to newer immigrant Italian mobsters}}
{{about|immigrant mafiosi in the United States||Zip (disambiguation)}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=June 2022}}

'''Zips''' (also '''''Siggies''''' or '''''Geeps''''') is a slang term in the United States that was especially in use in the mid-20th century. It was often used as a derogatory slur by [[Italian-American Mafia|Italian-American mobsters]] in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian mafiosi. The mobsters in the US were said to have difficulty understanding the [[Sicilian language|Sicilian dialects]] of the new immigrants, in which words appeared to "zip" by. Other theories include pejorative uses, such as Sicilians' preference for homemade [[Improvised firearm|zip guns]].  According to another theory, the term is a contraction of a Sicilian slang term for "hicks" or "primitives".