Miami Heat forward Simone Fontecchio has been the latest European player to pick up a variety of nicknames in the NBA. But the funniest part? His most recent one might actually be unintentionally insulting. After Fontecchio hit one of his four three-pointers against the New York Knicks on Monday, Miami Heat commentators dubbed him "Three-mone."
At first glance, it seems like just another playful nickname created by Americans. But, as first noted by La Giornata Tipo, it carries a very different meaning in Italy. In the Bari dialect, the word "trimone" is a vulgar term used to describe a particularly foolish person, usually male. The Italian word for "three" is "tre," pronounced "treh," which explains the origin of the nickname.
