Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun US, informal A Mafia gangster.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

good +‎ fella. Popularised by the US crime film GoodFellas (1990).

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Examples

  • And I think he thought that this insider, Patrick, was like a Don Corleone, the Mafia king, a "goodfella," and he wanted to impress him in some respects, but he still was afraid of getting into trouble in others.

    CNN Transcript Feb 7, 2008 2008

  • Rossi is called a "wise guy," "goodfella" and a candidate with "bocce balls," for his business sense, charity work and recall policy - all in a New Jersey accent.

    Thestar.com - Home Page Nicki Thomas 2010

  • In the 'goodfella' ad he references the half a billion dollars he's raised and his years in public service.

    Thestar.com - Home Page Nicki Thomas 2010

  • Vinny the Pooh (the plush goodfella) would have used the 100-acre woods to bury his enemies.

    The Man Who Wouldn't Grow Up: When Sirius XM radio DJ Kenny Curtis talks, kids listen 2010

  • Gone are the bidders of yore, goodfella guys with sharkskin suits, ruby pinkie rings and wads of hundred dollar bills.

    Sheriff's sale surprises Dan 2008

  • A local goodfella, however, with a head of hair that could render nuclear weapons obsolete, fared better when he was arrested for cocaine possession.

    Eric Dezenhall: Waiting for Blago: A Tale of Corruption Nostalgia 2009

  • But on the streets, where it mattered most, word soon spread that John Gotti had officially earned his “bonus”—a term used when a man became a wiseguy or goodfella.

    This Family of Mine VICTORIA GOTTI 2009

  • Left were the portly, graying bartender, a youngish, blonde waitress of hardbitten looks adding up her tabs, and a yackety-yak goodfella talking a blue streak at the end of the bar.

    Archive 2006-11-01 Brooks of Sheffield 2006

  • Left were the portly, graying bartender, a youngish, blonde waitress of hardbitten looks adding up her tabs, and a yackety-yak goodfella talking a blue streak at the end of the bar.

    A Brush With Bamonte's Brooks of Sheffield 2006

  • It was like interviewing a goodfella who wasn't quite ready to rat anyone out.

    Ottawa Sun 2010

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