scugnizzon.
/skuːˈnjɪtsə(ʊ)/ In Naples, a street urchin. Usually in plural.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > type of inhabitant generally > [noun] > homeless
Jack out of doors1603
stray1649
street boy1796
street urchin1827
Arab1847
street Arab1853
wastrel1877
street person1907
skell1955
scugnizzo1957
1957 M. West Children of Sun i. 26 Peppino laid a hand on my arm and drew me away. ‘Scugnizzi, Mauro. The urchins of Naples. Let's go!’ I fumbled in my pocket and found a thousand lire note which I thrust into the hand of the weeping crone.
1961 ‘W. Haggard’ Arena xi. 91 There was more in Naples than scugnizzi.
1978 Times Lit. Suppl. 3 Mar. 250/2 British soldiers..chopping off the fingers of scugnizzi who tried to climb into the backs of lorries.
1980 T. Holme Neapolitan Streak 121 When we were children, my sister and I were scugnizzi—the gutter kids of Naples.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1993; most recently modified version published online September 2019).
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n.1957