Asa Nisi Masa is a cryptic phrase featured in a key scene of Federico Fellini's 1963 film 8½.
The phrase is believed to originate from a children's linguistic game known as the "serpentine alphabet" (Italian: alfabeto serpentino), in which syllables like sa or si are inserted between the consonants of a word to obscure its meaning.
[1] Guido is a little boy, being pampered by the women in his life; bathed in wine, then wrapped up in freshly-warmed blankets and carried off to bed.
The American punk-cabaret band Nervous Cabaret also has a track "Asa Nisi Masa", on their 2005 self-titled album.
The Polish free jazz group Silberman Quartet released their first full length album, titled Asanisimasa.