# Did we get "balls" from Italian immigrants?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-get-balls-from-italian-immigrants/355581>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 5, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-get-balls-from-italian-immigrants/355581 "2006-05-05T18:51:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-get-balls-from-italian-immigrants/355581/1 "2006-05-05T18:51:23Z")

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In Italian, they use their word for balls (palle) as a slang word for testicles, just like we do. Sounds natural, but it’s not universal - Spanish-speakers use “eggs” (which are closer to testicles in shape), and even the British are more likely to use “bollocks”.

So does anyone know whether our adoption the slang term “balls” coincides with the Italian immigration era?

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**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-get-balls-from-italian-immigrants/355581/2 "2006-05-05T18:56:03Z")

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Probably predates it by centuries. “Bollocks” essentially means “little balls.” It’s the same suffix used in hillock and bullock.

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**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-get-balls-from-italian-immigrants/355581/3 "2006-05-05T18:58:58Z")

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> [@Gary T](#):
>
> Probably predates it by centuries. “Bollocks” essentially means “little balls.” It’s the same suffix used in hillock and bullock.

Lubbock?

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-get-balls-from-italian-immigrants/355581/4 "2006-05-05T19:28:50Z")

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The OED says it dates from around 1325, over a century before any Italian set foot in the Western hemisphere.

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**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-get-balls-from-italian-immigrants/355581/5 "2006-05-05T19:32:07Z")

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> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> The OED says it dates from around 1325, over a century before any Italian set foot in the Western hemisphere.

Who are we named after, again?

JK

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**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-get-balls-from-italian-immigrants/355581/6 "2006-05-05T19:33:33Z")

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> [@pizzabrat](#):
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> Who are we named after, again?
> 
> JK

Scratch that. I misunderstood what you said.

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**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-get-balls-from-italian-immigrants/355581/7 "2006-05-05T20:18:12Z")

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IOW, snarked to soon.

:smack:

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-we-get-balls-from-italian-immigrants/355581/8 "2006-05-05T22:38:14Z")

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> [@pizzabrat](#):
>
> …and even the British are more likely to use “bollocks”.

Yes - but we have other uses for ‘balls’ as an expletive, which I doubt are imports from American. I’m particularly thinking of “balls-up”, synonymous with “screw-up”, including tenses, e.g. “I really ballsed this up”.