Help with an Italian nickname

[msecc]

My great grandfather had an Italian nickname that translated to "the night whistler". He would work 20 hours a day?
I'm looking for the Italian slang nickname for this translation, not what google or yahoo translator says.

It sounded like the word for whistle =fischione

I was hoping someone has heard this nickname before.

Any help would be great!

[msecc]

Any help?

"The Night Whistler"

[Tessa78]

Hi msecc

Don't have a translation of "The Night Whistler" for you, but here are some great articles about "soprannomi" and "nomignoli" (nicknames)....

http://becomingitalianwordbyword.typepa ... guage.html

http://www.uvm.edu/~arosa/leggio.html

My best guess for the nickname "The Night Whistler" would be "fischia di notte" (he whistles at night)

T.

[msecc]

Thanks, I enjoyed the read....

[Maurizio]

Couldn't the original nickname have been "Usignolo", i.e. "Nightingale"?

This kind of bird is one of the few whistling at night, and its singing is very various, loud and happy.
More generally, in Italy we say "Canta come un usignolo" of someone who has a good voice and intonation...
Was your ggfather a good singer?

Just my two cents...
Ciao,
Maurizio

[msecc]

Thanks Maurizio,
I don't think that was it though... It was definitely due to him working late into the night on the horse and wagon whistling to the horses...