Fifty-nine is 'e pile, the hairs. Neapolitan keeps the same distinction Italian does: pili are the hairs on a body, capille the hair on a head. English collapses both into one word and the square loses its edge.
The board files head hair separately, under capelli, at 1 and 27 in the printed dictionary.
- 59
- 'E pile
- the hairs
- Row 51–60 of the tabellone
Where the figure comes from
None recorded.
Other things filed on 59
In Neapolitan life
The word survives in the standing Italian phrase non avere peli sulla lingua, to have no hairs on the tongue, meaning to say exactly what you think — which is a fair description of most of this board.
59 in the smorfia — frequently asked
Hairs, on a body. Head hair is a different word in the dialect and sits elsewhere in the dictionary.
Not on it. Capelli is filed in the printed dictionary rather than given a square, which is another sign the board and the dictionary are separate things.