Going to the Mattresses

The other night I watched The Godfather for the first time and chuckled when the character of Clemenza delivered the line "That Sonny's runnin' wild. He's thinkin'a going to the mattresses already. We gotta find a spot over on the West Side" so though I'd look into what the phrase "going to the mattresses" means.

The meaning relates to when members of the mafia are going to war with a rival clan or family. When a family moves to a safe place to hide out, they get mattresses for the soldiers of the family to sleep on and protect them. In essence it relates to preparing for battle.

So there you go; better not get them memory foam mattresses though or they’ll never wake up when called to battle.