Description

The pizzo is protection money paid to the Mafia often in the form of a forced transfer of money resulting from extortion. The term is derived from the Sicilian pizzu ('beak'). To "let someone wet their beak" is to pay protection money. The practice used to be widespread in Southern Italy, not only by the Sicilian Cosa Nostra but also by the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria and the Camorra in Campania. Another etymological explanation of the term is "beakerful", referring to the right of an overseer to scoop from the grain being threshed by peasants.