dry beef

In Italian-American communities in Chicagoland, a “dry beef” is when a person informs law enforcement (usually the FBI) about the criminal activities of an associate without formally cooperating with the government or testifying in open court against the associate. Dry beefs are often strategic, as they allow snitches facilitate the incarceration of their competitors, which then provides them with the opportunity to ratchet-up their own illicit rackets.

Dago #1:”There’s a lotta bad news goin’ ‘round about our friend who lives out west, there. You know who I mean? They’re sayin’ he’s a snitch.”

Dago #2: “Yeah, buddy. I know. That’s a dry beef, there. Did you tell our friend out east?”