Zips (also Siggies or Geeps) is a slang term often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American mobsters in reference to immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi. The name is said to have originated from mobsters' inability to understand the faster-speaking Sicilian dialects, which appeared to "zip" by. Other theories include pejorative uses such as Sicilians' appetite for ziti or their preference for silent, homemade zip guns.