When the captain of the cruise ship that sunk off the coast of Italy abandoned ship, he was ordered to go back by the Italian coast guard.

Captain Gregorio De Falco, the commander who gave that order used what is described as an “expletive” on many news websites….That expletive is “cazzo”, pronounced KAHTZ-soh.

Vada a bordo, cazzo….Get on board, _______.

The literal translation for cazzo is “penis”. But the new Italian hero, De Falco, was not calling the cowardly captain a penis in the biological sense. He was calling him a “prick” or a “dick”.

The word is used in a variety of contexts, and De Falco may very well have been calling the captain – now being charged with manslaughter – a “fuck”.

It basically all amounts to the same thing.

“Get on board, ya’ prick”
“Get on board, ya’ dick”
“Get on board, ya’ fuck”

The word cazzo is actually pretty popular, and could be translated in the context of cursing using the words “shit” or “damn it”.

De Falco was probably not saying “shit”, though “damn it” is a possibility. “Get on board, damn it” would make sense….but I think we’re being a bit too polite with that translation.

Personally, I think a proper translation would be, “Get on board, you fuck”. This would explain people feeling a sense of satisfaction about his use of the word…It’s packed full of emotion, and honesty.

Cazzo!

While Captain Gregorio De Falco is being hailed as a national hero for upholding the honor of his country, I’d like to bestow an honorary Badass American Award on Captain Gregorio De Falco.

Fratelli d’Italia, Italia s’è desta

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0118/captain.html