Poliziottesco

Etymology

In English, the term poliziottesco – a fusion of the words poliziotto ('policeman') and the same -esco suffix – has prevailed over the more syntactically correct poliziesco all'italiana to indicate 1970s-era Italian-produced "tough cop" and crime movies. The prevalence of poliziottesco over poliziesco [all'italiana] closely follows the success of the term spaghetti Western over western all'italiana, being shorter and more vivid. In both instances, however, the term that has come to be used more frequently by English-speaking fans of the genre (poliziotteschi, spaghetti Westerns) was originally used pejoratively by critics, to denigrate the films themselves and their makers.