Twenty-one is 'a femmena annura, the naked woman. Lists print both annura and annuda, and the wobble is the same rhotacism that turns Madonna into Maronna: an Italian d between vowels goes to r in Neapolitan speech, but writers were never sure whether to spell the sound or the origin.
Unlike 6, this square says what it means. The board has both modes and moves between them without any obvious rule.
- 21
- 'A femmena annura
- the naked woman
- Row 21–30 of the tabellone
Where the figure comes from
No recorded reason for the number. Sicily has a fimmina, simply the woman, at 21 — the same figure with the adjective taken off.
Other things filed on 21
In Neapolitan life
The Neapolitan word for woman is femmena, from Latin femina, and it is neutral in the dialect where the Italian femmina has drifted towards the clinical. Small differences of that kind are why the board reads flat in translation and sharp in dialect.
21 in the smorfia — frequently asked
Both are printed. The dialect says annura; the spelling annuda keeps the Italian d. It is a writing convention, not two different figures.
The Trapani board has a fimmina, simply the woman, at 21. Same square, adjective removed.