vegetarian in Rome

Before I left for my four-month gig in Rome, I used an online translation tool and translated into Italian:

"I am a vegetarian.  I do not eat meat fish or fowl."

I got the following back:

"Sono vegetariano. Non mangio il pesce di carne o l'uccello."

I printed that out and cut it down to business card size and kept it in my wallet to show when I needed help ordering food.

One day I visited a cafe near the office for lunch - and no one spoke English.  I pulled out my card and handed it to the woman  - and she helped me place my order accordingly.  Then - as I was paying the cashier, she came over and gestured to see the card again.  I pulled it out.  She took and grabbed a pen and scratched out the "l'uccello" part and gave it back to me.  Later, I told my boss the story and pulled the card out for her.  She laughed.  Apparently the Italians refer to fowl as meat, so there is no need to distinguish it.  What made her laugh though, is that "l'uccello" is apparently a slang term for 'penis'.