Italian Nickname "Bag of Doughnuts"

Factual Questions
1

My wife and I were watching a rerun of the movie “My COusin Vinny,” and one character refers to Joe Pesci as “Vinny Bag of Doughnuts!” My wife asked me what that nickname meant, and, well…

I was born and raised in a largely Italian neighborhood in New York, so I’ve heard this expression lots of times- friends referring to their Uncle or cousin “Joey Bag of Doughnuts” or “Paulie Bag of Doughnuts,” so I understood it as some kind of affectionate/mocking nickname. But I never really understood where it came from or what it meant.

So, any Italian Dopers know exactly what the phrase means, or where it came from?

2

I think it comes from the Italian expression “Manjecake” which means cake eater. It suggests a person who is a bit of a wimp.

3

I’ve always understood the term “Joe Bag-o-doughnuts” to mean “some guy” or “any guy.”

4

I’m with Johnny Angel-that’s how I’ve always understood the term, as a reference to the average Joe Anybody.
Oh, and Wally, not to be a nitpick, but it’s Mangia-cake. No j in Italian. :slight_smile: Sorry-

Bri

5

I think it’s one of those second or third generation Italian-American things that really has no meaning. It’s just a nonsense name that has the meter of an Italian guy’s name. Think of it as a paisan’s Joe Blow.

My dad used to use that fake name when telling me bedtime stories, along with Rudy Arugula and Vinny Boombatz.

6

…we would say “Joe the Ragman”, too.

7

Zombie resurrection.

Around these parts, Joey Bagofdoughnuts refers to a guy who literally brings a bag of doughnuts or some other kind of treat to work, or wherever the guys are hanging out. He’s a gladhanding type of guy, unreliable lousy worker, but nobody gets mad at him because he brings the bags of doughnuts. Well, eventually it gets tiresome, but if you’re not good at your job you might last a little longer if you bring doughnuts to work.

8

Huh, that provides some context for a webcomic I used to read, which had a character (a greaser vampire who was always surrounded by a swarm of bats) named “Vinnie Doombats”.

9

“Vinnie Boombatz” was Rodney Dangerfield’s doctor in his comedy bits.

When I was taking driving lessons one day the driving route my instructor chose took us to a bakery, where he picked up two dozen doughnuts, then to the motor vehicle department testing site (also a state police barracks at the time), where he took the doughnuts in and returned empty handed. Couple of weeks later when I went for my driving test he went inside and arranged for me to get the easiest tester rather than the notorious hardass. I passed despite bumping into a cone in the serpentine course (it was the day after my junior prom so I wasn’t my sharpest).

10

The comedian Mike Birbiglia did a whole routine about a character named Joey Bag o’ Doughnuts. I think that was well after the movie, though.

11

Not only was it well after the movie, it was after this thread was started!

12

To me, Joey Bago’ doughnuts, is an Italian-American guy with a heavy NY accent and carrying some fat.

13

We had Rudy Vaselino!