Welcome to The Mad Logophile. It is my intent to explore words here; their origins, evolution, usage. Words are fascinating. They are alive; they are born, they change and, sometimes, they die. They are our principal tool for communicating with one another. There are millions of words yet only an estimated 171,476 words are in common current use. As a logophile, I enjoy discovering new words, using them and learning about their origins. Why yes, I do read dictionaries for fun... don't you?
This week, we look at Yiddish...
Yiddish was at one time the language of the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe and their descendants. A hybrid of Hebrew and medieval German, Yiddish takes most of its vocabulary from German, and borrows liberally from Hebrew and many other languages. It has a grammatical structure all its own, and is written in an alphabet based on Hebraic characters. Scholars classify Yiddish as a Germanic language, though that classification isn't accepted by all.
The Yiddish Alphabet (alef-beyz)
Less than a century ago, Yiddish was spoken by an estimated 11 million Jews. Many of them spoke Yiddish as their primary language. Today, less than a quarter of a million people in the United States speak Yiddish. Most Jews know only a smattering of Yiddish words. Yet Yiddish has experienced a resurgence and is now being taught at many universities. There are Yiddish studies at Oxford, Harvard and Columbia, among others.
Yiddish is referred to as mame loshn ("loshn" rhymes with "caution"), which means "mother tongue." It was primarily the language used by women and children in contrast with loshn koydesh, the holy tongue of Hebrew that was studied only by men.
The widely-accepted standard for transliterating Yiddish into the Roman alphabet was developed by the YIVO Institute For Jewish Research. Although the YIVO standard is widely accepted, it is usually ignored for Yiddish words that have a widely-used, familiar spelling. For example, the YIVO transliteration of "khutspe" appears in many dictionaries spelled "chutzpah." Which is a bit of a blessing for those of us aren't practiced speakers of Yiddish.
I chose words and phrases that are useful, interesting and/or a peek at Jewish culture. So let's have a go at some Yiddish...
Did you know there is a Yiddish version of die in a fire? Yep, a feier zol im trefen literally means "a fire should meet- (you/him/her)" and it's generally spoken in the same context as the English curse. There are many curses in Yiddish and they are all colorful and, for non-native speakers, hard to say.
If you have an ainikle, you know what it's like to be a Grandparent. My ainikle makes me so proud... Such a smart Grandchild she is!
Yiddish also has an equivalent of PWNed; arumgeflickt. Meaning "plucked" or "milked" literally, it is used in much the same way as the net-word. Old Bill-o was arumgeflickt by Keith!
A very specific Yiddish term is badchen. Sort of like an emcee, a badchen is the master of ceremonies for a wedding or bar/bat mitzvah. He (usually a man) guides the festivities, making introductions and announcing the gifts by holding them up for all to see and praising the giver. Uncle Moe was the badchen for my wedding dinner.
Many of us know a baleboosteh. Literally, that means a good housekeeper. But it's a bit more, it's an attitude. She’s in charge and don’t you forget it. My Mother-in-law is such a baleboosteh!
For all of those know-it-alls, Yiddish has a handy word. A balmalocha is an expert, in the very sarcastic sense. Oh, he knows how to fix the economy. What a balmalocha he is!
A term of endearment, bubeleh is appropriate for use in reference to any age or gender. How are you, Bubeleh?
When you need a word for "nada" that is a bit stronger, use bupkes. Translated from the Russian as "nothing," it is usually used in reference to an amount that is smaller than expected or deserved. I did all the work while those guys did bupkes!
Challa is a ceremonial yeast-leavened bread eaten on Shabbat and most religious observances with the exception of Pesach (Passover). It is made with an egg-rich dough and is usually braided or twisted before baking.
Junk of any kind is known as chazzerei. The word literally means "swill" or "pig food" and is usually used in reference to junk food or bad food. The meaning has broadened to include other kinds of junk. Don't eat such chazzerei before dinner!
During a Jewish wedding, or chassene, the bride (kaleh) and groom (chossen) stand beneath a chupah or ceremonial canopy. The married couple are referred to as the chosse. Yes, those are all pronounced with that phlegmy "cchhh" sound. The chosse looked so lovely under the chupah.
One trait that can swing both good or bad is chutzpah. It expresses a high level of arrogance and/or assumption. Boy, that Vitter has a lot of chutzpah! Of course, it can also be a good thing; That took a lot of chutzpah to stand up to the boss.
Literally a word for human excrement, drek has come to describe any merchandise or handiwork that's equivalent. It' also used for insincere or excessively flattering talk. You should hear the drek he was spouting.
Did something happen that confused the heck out of you? Then you are fachadick. When I heard What she did, I was just fachadick... Es ken gemolt zein (It's inconceivable)! If you're only a little puzzled, you're farmisht.
Let's say that you wore an Obama T-shirt to a Klan rally. That would be geferlech. Very dangerous. You went to a meeting of Surrounders? That was geferlech!
Anyone who is not Jewish is a goy. A woman is a goyeh and a man is a goyim. That, of course, is the slang version. More formally, a non-Jewish person is a gentile.
There are many colorful curses in Yiddish. Most are pretty difficult to say. But Ich hob dir is one of the easy ones. It means "I have you" but is used as one would use "drop dead!"
The opposite of the baleboosteh is a kalekeh. This is the woman who can't even boil an egg, much less keep a house. My Sister-in-Law is such a kalekeh -- she can't even make toast!
When we wish to insure continued good health, prosperity, etc. we say "God willing" or "knock wood." The Yiddish version is kaynahorah. My family is all healthy and happy, kaynahorah.
When you child does something wonderful, you may be k'velen or kvel. You are overflowing with pride and happiness. My son passed the bar, I am so kvell!
A well-known word that even we Gentiles use a lot, kvetch means to complain. But it's a bit more... To kvetch is to complain and bitch, usually with a companion so that you can help one another. My girlfriend and I, we kvetched until dawn.
That rather crazy person you know is meshugeneh (also spelled mashugga). Literally that means "insane" but it is used in a loving or joking way. That Woody Allen, he's such a meshugeneh. General craziness, such as what is going on in the Republican party, is meshugass.
A general toast is Mazel Tov, literally "good luck."
Some of us may know that person who is always in the way, who can get nothing right. The menuvel is always causing grief. That poor girl is such a menuvel.
The ritual bath, the mikveh, is taken by women before their wedding and after their monthlies. It is a spiritual cleansing. Some very pious men take the mikveh before Sabbath or important festivals. Chassidim bathe every morning.
Yiddish recognizes the special feelings that children bring their parents. That joyful feeling is naches (NAW-kiss). My daughter is in medical school. I have such naches! We'll get to the opposite shortly....
A nochshlepper is a person with no life who follows a celebrity around, a hanger-on. Joe the Plumber is just a nochshlepper.
A short but useful word is nu. It is usually heard as a prompt for a response or explanation. If someone says something you don't understand, you might say, "nu?" as in "come again?" It can also mean "so?" or "well?"
The all-purpose cry of frustration or exasperation is oi! You can add gevalt or vai to that if you like. Oi vai! I can't believe that Glenn Beck!
Plotz means, literally, "explode" and is used to express being full emotionally. I'm so happy I could plotz!
A handy word for parents is schmutz. This refers to a small amount of dirt. Like many kids inevitably end up with on the way to a formal occasion. You have some schmutz on your face. Here, let me wipe it off for you.
I bet you thought a matchmaker was call a yenta, didn't you? Well, the proper word for the woman who does that is shadchen. I paid the shadchen for a good match for my son and I get a menuvel? A yenta is a gossipy woman.
Yiddish has a wonderful array of words that begin with "sh". To carry stuff, especially unnecessary stuff, is to shlep. If you are buttering up your boss, you are laying on the shmeichel. Some very useful words for a jerk (in varying degreees) are shmendrick, shmuck, shlemiel and shlemazel. The shmendrik is a twit; the opposite of a mensch. The shmuck (lit. "penis") is a despicable person... okay, a prick. The shlemiel is a clumsy bungler and the shlemazel is the perpetually unlucky guy. When the shlemiel spills his soup, the shlemazel is the guy he spills it on.
Sentimental or corny things are shmaltzy. Schmaltz is literally "grease, fat." The word originally meant to sweet-talk or overly praise someone. He tried to schmaltz me but I wasn't falling for it.
A wedding or a bar mitzvah is a simcheh (also spelled simchas), a joy.
At the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashoneh), the tashlich is performed. Crumbs of bread symbolizing one's sins are cast away into a stream of water.
The really good food that Jews are forbidden to eat is traif. This is the stuff that Jews "want so badly they actually make Kosher bacon out of chicken or something." I'd love to try lobster but it's traif.
One thing I have a great many of is tchatchke. This actually has two meanings; knick-knack or little toy and a trophy wife (obviously I have a lot of the former, not the latter). Her house was full of tchatchkes. Or... He dumped his first wife for that tchatchke.
Another Yiddish word we're all familiar with is toches (tukas). It's the bum, of course. A particularly interesting phrase using toches is toches ahfen tish. Meaning "put up or shut up" it is, literally, "asses on the table." Okay, enough fooling around, toches ahfen tish!
You know that witty comeback that you don't think of until the next day? That is a trepsverter. I thought of a great trepsverter... at four AM.
Remember we mentioned those feelings we get from our kids? When those feelings are negative, they are tsuris. This can also be general troubles. The boy gave me such tsuris, but not as much as my boss gave me when he fired me.
If you got fired, you might feel unger bluzen. Literally, "swollen with anger." It can be anything from a bad mood to rage. Since I lost my home I am unger bluzen. You might also say Vai is mir, "wor is me!"
So you're watching a movie and at the end you're on the verge of tears. You are verklempt, very emotional. That Casablanca always makes me so verklempt.
Do you ever get the feeling that everything is against you? When bad things happen you might say to yourself; vooden? Of course my stupid car broke down. Vooden? (What else?)
Gentiles might occasionally hear Yiddisher kop but it's not really meant for us. It means use your common sense (Jewish head) that G-d gave you more of since you’re Jewish and need it more to survive. Don't put up with that guy, use your yiddisher kop.
I'm not a skinny woman. Yiddish has a great word that I like to use to describe myself; zaftik. Literally, "juicy", it means pleasantly plump or sensuous looking. Bette Midler is zaftik.
Meaning "beloved", zelig is used mostly by German Jews. It is used when referring to a dear one, usually deceased. He was such a handsome man, Papa Zelig. It's also the title of a Woody Allen film that makes sense now.
Finally, a Yiddish blessing... Zolst leben un zein gezunt! "You should live and be well!"
----------------------------------------------
Several years ago, Weird Al Yankovic did a parody of Pretty Fly (For A White Guy). The lyrics are a virtual tour through the Yiddish language:
Pretty Fly For A Rabbi
by Al Yankovic
Veren zol fun dir a blintsa ("You should turn into a blintz!")
(How ya doin' Bernie?) Oy vey, oy vey
(How ya doin' Bernie?) Oy vey, oy vey
(How ya doin' Bernie?) Oy vey, oy vey
And all the goyim say I'm pretty fly for a rabbi
Meccha leccha hi, meccha hiney hiney ho (gibberish)
Our temple's had a fair share of rabbis in the past
But most of 'em were nudniks(nuisances) and none of 'em would last
But our new guy's real kosher, I think he'll do the trick
I tell ya, he's to dies for - he really knows his shtick
So how's by you? Have you seen this Jew?
Reads the Torah, does his own accounting too
Workin' like a dog at the synagogue
He's there all day, he's there all day
Just say "Vay iz mir!" and he'll kick into gear
He'll bring you lots of cheer and maybe bagels with some shmeer(spread)
Just grab your yarmulka and
Hey! Hey! Do that Hebrew thing!
(How ya doin' Bernie?) Oy vey, oy vey
(How ya doin' Bernie?) Oy vey, oy vey
(How ya doin' Bernie?) Oy vey, oy vey
And all the goyim say I'm pretty fly (for a rabbi)
He shops at discount stores, not just any will suffice
He has to find a bargain 'cause he won't pay retail price
He never acts meshugga and he's hardly a schlemiel
But if you wanna haggle, oy, he'll make you such a deal!
People used to scoff, now they say "Mazel tov!"
He's such a macher(big shot) 'cause he worked his tochis off
Yeah, he keeps his cool and teaches shul(synagogue)
What's not to like? What's not to like?
On high holy days, you know he prays and prays
And he never eats pastrami on white breath with mayonnaise
Put on your yarmulka and
Hey! Hey! Do that Hebrew thing!
When he's doing a Bar Mitzvah, now that you shouldn't miss
He'll always shlep on down for a wedding or a briss(ceremonial circumcision)
They say he's got a lot of chutzpah, he's really quite hhhhhip
The parents pay the moyl(the man who does the actual cutting) and he gets to keep the tip
(How ya doin' Bernie?) Oy vey, oy vey
(How ya doin' Bernie?) Oy vey, oy vey
(How ya doin' Bernie?) Oy vey, oy vey
Meccha leccha hi, meccha meccha cholly ho
He's doin' well, I gotta kvell(be delighted)
The yentas love him, even shicksas(non-Jewish girls) think he's swell
Show up at his home, he says "Shalom"
And "Have some cake - you want some cake?"
Yah, he calls the shots, we really love him lots
Oy gevalt, I'm so verklempt that I could plotz
So grab your yarmulka
The one you got for Chanukkah
Let's put on our yarmulkas and
Hey! Hey! Do that Hebrew thing!
-----------------------------------------------
There is, oh, so much more. There are many Yiddish dictionaries and if you find it as fascinating as I do, you should pick one up.
Please share you favorite Yiddish words or phrases...