Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes. (2024)

Context

This famous line is spoken by Peter Clemenza, played by Richard Castellano, in The Godfather (directed by Francis Ford Coppola, 1972).

When the Corleone family can't get a hold of Luca Brasi, they wonder what happened to him and where he is. The answer comes almost immediately, in the form of a mysterious brown paper package (was it tied up with string?).

Inside? Two fish wrapped in a bullet-proof vest.

No, it's not a delivery intended for the sushi restaurant next door. As Clemenza explains, "It's a Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes." In other words, he's been dumped in the ocean for a deep, deep sleep.

Where you've heard it

Unless you've taken a nap at an aquarium, you've probably just heard this one in connection to the movie. It's one of the most popular lines from The Godfather, and has taken on a life of its own as a mobster threat.

Additional Notable References

• The Grammarphobia blog explores the origins of the phrase.
• Of course this line has been used by mobster caricature Fat Tony on The Simpsons.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Sleeps with the fishes sounds kind of cute doesn't it? Finding a bloated dead body washed up on the shore, though… not so much.