Saturday, May 12, 2018

Term of the Day: going to the mattresses

going to the mattresses-- Mob term meaning to dig in for a long fight. Popularized by "The Godfather," but an earlier use was a Mob war in the 1960's in Red Hook, Brooklyn, where "Crazy Joe" Gallo and his crew took on a larger crime family. Mattresses were brought in so multiple gunmen could sleep in the same safe house, ready for street battles. "I am not going to go to the mattresses for this payroll issue. I have to pick my fights."

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