“If an Italian-American guy tells you he’s going to see his goomar, it means he’s visiting his girlfriend. I don’t want you back in this house ever again! Do you hear me?” “If you’re going to your goomar, then stay over there. She was all over me every chance she could get.” “Friday night was for the wives, but Saturdays was for the girlfriends. I have to call him if I see her leave the house.” “Tommy was going out with his goomar tonight and told me to keep an eye on his wife. He would leave her destitute and on the street as punishment.

If the goomar did get out of place, the mobster would usually threaten her with physical violence. The goomar would know that she was the mobster’s side-piece, and she would never interrupt or interfere with the mobster’s family or visit him at home or at work. Mobsters would often have separate lives from their wives, where they would invite their goomars to bars and let them mingle with each other. She waits on him hand and foot, and in turn, the mobster rewards her by paying her bills and buying her jewelry and clothes. She must please him sexually, massage him, and cook for him.

A “ goomar” is a mobster’s girlfriend, and she serves the mobster’s beck and calls. The expression “ goomar” is an American-Italian word for “ mistress” or “ side-piece.” It’s a phrase appearing in many Italian-American gangster movies like “ Casino,” “ Goodfellas,” and others. Did one of the characters on the Sopranos call a woman a “ goomar?” Are you wondering what it means? This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.

Movies like casino and goodfellas