What does capo mean in slang?
A chieftain in a criminal organization such as the Mafia.
Who was a capo and what was their role?
It was the Kapos job to brutally force prisoners to do forced labor, despite the prisoners being sick and starving. Facing prisoner against prisoner served two goals for the SS: it allowed them to meet a labor need while simultaneously furthering tensions between various groups of prisoners.
Is a capo a boss?
In general, the term indicates the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate who commands a crew of soldiers and reports directly to the don (boss) or an underboss or street boss. The shortened version “capo” has been used to refer to certain high-ranking members of Latin American drug cartels as well.
Where does the word capo come from?
The word capo comes from the Italian capotasto, capo meaning head, and tasto meaning key, tie, or fret. In a document from 1640, the Italian Musicologist Giovanni Battista Doni uses the word capotasto to describe the nut on a viola da gamba, a family of hollow, wooden stringed instruments now referred to as viols.
What does Blockalteste mean?
Blockalteste. A concentration camp inmate appointed to be the leader of a barrack.
Why is a capo called a capo?
Taking its name from the Italian word for “head,” a capo is a small device that clamps onto the neck of a guitar and shortens the length of the strings, raising their pitch.
What was the advice from the Blockalteste?
The blockalteste advised Elie to survive, to only look out for himself and no other. He tells him that in the concentration camps, it is every man for himself and that ties of family and friendship no longer count. He advises him not to give his food rations to his father and to instead his father’s for himself.
Where did the word capo come from?
What is the plural of capo?
noun (1) ca·po | \ ˈkā-(ˌ)pō \ plural capos.