Thirty is 'e palle d''o tenente, the lieutenant's balls. Italian lists sometimes soften this into cannonballs, which is a defensible reading of palle and almost certainly not what anyone meant.
It is the board's only rank. There are soldiers at 12 and guards at 24, and exactly one officer, introduced for the purpose of being laughed at.
- 30
- 'E palle d''o tenente
- the lieutenant's balls
- Row 21–30 of the tabellone
Where the figure comes from
No source. A barrack joke of unknown date, kept because it was funny enough to remember.
Other things filed on 30
In Neapolitan life
Sicily tells the same joke on a different square. The Trapani board's 88 is i palle, with three published variants: the grandfather's, the lieutenant's, or the Pope's. The lieutenant survives the crossing; the number does not.
30 in the smorfia — frequently asked
Palle can mean either and Italian lists occasionally take the polite route. The joke, and the lieutenant, make the other reading the obvious one.
At 88 rather than 30, and with the owner varying between a grandfather, a lieutenant and the Pope.