What does “la zecca dello stato” mean?

Italian has a perfect pun built around one phrase: la zecca dello stato. La Zecca dello Stato is the official Italian state mint, the institution that prints money and coins. But zecca on its own is also the Italian word for tick, the bloodsucking parasite. In this stand-up monologue, the comedian calls his ex-wife la zecca dello stato, drawing his blood “with the state’s permission” through alimony.

The bit only lands because Italians know La Zecca dello Stato as a real institution and zecca as the bug. Stacking the two puts a dignified financial body and a parasite on the same name. Pure Italian comic wordplay.