la cosa nostra
It’s Italian for ‘our thing’ or ‘this thing of ours’, but really it’s just a fancy way to say the Italian mob without getting in trouble.
My teacher said, ‘Don’t talk about la cosa nostra or I’ll call the cops.’
He said he was part of la cosa nostra, but he just stole my lunch money.
The guy next door says he’s from la cosa nostra, but he’s just a guy who likes pizza.