‘The Simpsons’ Used Hilariously Accurate Mob Slang, Ex-Mob Boss Says
The Simpsons is the longest-running sitcom and longest-running animated series in America. It’s well-known for its use of wide-ranging cultural references. There have also been numerous times where the show appeared to predict the future, though some might say it’s a case of life imitating art or pure coincidence. Other popular shows, including The Office, have referenced the show, sometimes outright, sometimes via Easter eggs.
Like most movies and TV shows, scenes from The Simpsons have been featured in reaction videos rating the accuracy of various elements. One such video rated the accuracy of the show’s use of mob slang and portrayals.
Michael Franzese, ex-mob boss, rates mafia movie and TV scenes for accuracy
As part of Insiders YouTube series, How Real Is It?, former New York mobster Michael Franzese reviews classic mafia scenes from movies and TV. Franzese is an ex-caporegime, which is, essentially, Italian for boss, for the Colombo crime family, and has the honor of being the only high-ranking member of a major mafia family to leave the family and survive without entering the Witness Protection Program or becoming an informant. Some of the films Franzese reviews include The Godfather, The Sopranos, Goodfellas, The Irishman, and a scene from The Simpsons.
‘The Simpsons’ scene Franzese analyzes
In the brief clip (Video Timestamp: 8:01), Homer drives up in a brand new truck, and Marge, ever skeptical and quite aware of her husband’s salary, asks, “Homer, where’d you get that truck?” Homer replies, “Uhhh…it fell off a truck, you know, a truck truck.” At this point, a large truck, carrying trucks that are very similar to Homer’s new truck, pulls up and stops in front of the house. So, how accurate was Homer’s mob slang?
What did Franzese have to say?
Turns out it was pretty accurate, according to Franzese. “A lot of things fell off a truck…that was the expression we used…hijacking was a big thing back in the day.” He also reported that it “used to be a lot easier to change the serial numbers and make a new car out of it and nobody could ever find it.” Additionally, cars weren’t the only things he said, “fell off a truck.” According to Franzese, clothing, electronics, and suits, were all known to fall off trucks from time to time. Franzese ended up giving the scene an accuracy score of 6/10.
The term “it fell off a truck” has a long history associated with stolen goods, usually of high value, such as vehicles or electronics. According to the Urban Dictionary, the term is associated with mob families and fencing, or selling, whatever happened to fall off the truck. It was used to ensure customers that they were not buying stolen goods, but instead, they were just benefitting from some hapless truck driver who was not paying attention and probably hit a few bumps in the road and could not keep track of his cargo.
Honestly, it is not very surprising that such a long-running show had such accurate mob slang. In fact, there was a long-running character, Fat Tony, who was modeled after Goodfellas mob boss Paulie Cicero. So, it would be more surprising to learn the writers for The Simpsons didn’t do their mob slang homework.
Interestingly, Franzese gave Goodfellas an accuracy score of 8/10, and his name is briefly mentioned as one of the gangsters at the Bamboo Lounge, which caused the ex-mob boss some concern at the time. However, that is a story for a different day.
