Spotlight on Yiddish Yiddish is a language spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It is related to German (but also has many Slavic, Hebrew, and Aramaic loan words), and it is written using the Hebrew alphabet. Before the Holocaust, there were estimated to be 11 million fluent Yiddish speakers. Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe brought Yiddish to the United States, and gradually Yiddish seeped into the American English lexicon. See how many of these words and phrases you recognize: Bagel (BAY-gle) n. A ring-shaped bread roll made by boiling then baking the dough. Blintz (Blints) n. A sweet cheese-filled crepe. Bubeleh (BUB-e-leh) “Little grandma”; term of endearment for children; general term of endearment (yes, ~, the check is in the mail). Bubbee (BUB-ee) n. Friendly term for anybody you like. Bupkis (BUP-kiss) n. Nothing; nada; “beans”; an offensively small amount compared to the effort it took to acquire (disappointed I got ~ for my birthday). Also spelled bubkes.
Challah (KHAL-lah) n. Braided loaf of white bread, glazed with egg white and served during Shabbos. Delicious. Chazzer (KHAZ-er) n. pig; glutton. Chazzerai (KHA-ze-rye) n. Pig food. Junk food; trash; a mess (put it with the other ~). Chuppa (KHOOP-ah) n. Wedding canopy; hence, a marriage. Chutzpah (KHOOTS-pah) n. Nerve; insolence; presumption and arrogance (that quality of a man who, having murdered his parents pleads with the court to show him mercy on account of being an orphan). Cockamamie (KOCK-a-MAY-mee) adj. Not credible; foolishly complicated; ridiculous; implausible; muddled; (a ~ story; of all the ~ excuses!) Dreidel (DRAY-dl) n. A top used in playing a game of chance during the festival of Hanukkah; in Hebrew a Sivivon. Ess (ess) v. Eat. Often used invitationally. “Ess! Ess! The food is getting cold.” Ferklempt (fer-KLEMPT) adj. Sad; Choked-up; too emotional to talk; overwhelmed; mistyeyed; distressed (I’m so ~!).
Fress (fress) To eat a great deal; to eat quickly and voraciously. Fresser: n; fressing: adj; To nosh is to snack; to ess is to eat; but you fress when you’re acting like a chazzer. Gelt (gelt) n. Money. Glitch (glitch) n. a minor malfunction. Gonif (GON-if) Thief; swindler; cheat; crook; clever cheat. Hamentaschen (HA-men-tah-shen) n. A triangular pastry served on Purim, said to resemble Haman's hat. Kibbitz (KI-bitz) v. to chat; gab; mindlessly talk; to socialize in a chatty way. Also to comment upon during a show or game; to needlessly interfere. To butt in and offer to remedy other people’s business. Kibosh (KIE-bosh) n. 1) nonsense; bosh; 2) v. to put an end to something; veto; squelch. Klutz (klutz) n. Clumsy person: The ~ spilled wine all over the tablecloth. Kosher (KO-sher) adj. conforming to Jewish dietary laws; (slang) appropriate, legitimate.
Kvell (kvell) v. To gush with pride; swell with naches. Gloat or brag. Kvetch (kvetch) to gripe; complain; to bemoan one’s fate. Latke (LAHT-keh) n. potato pancake, especially during Hanukkah. Loch in kop (LUKH-in-kup) n. literally, “a hole in the head.” (I need this like I need a ~!) Lox (lox) n. Smoked salmon. Maidel (MAY’dl) n. a young girl. Maven (MAY-ven) n. Expert; authority. Often used sarcastically. Mazel tov! (MAH-zel tawv) (interj.) Congratulations! Mazel tov on the new baby! (mazel = luck + tov = good). Mazel can be used as a general synonym for “luck.” Mensch (mensh) n. One who does good deeds; a good guy; (he's a real ~, the kind of guy you can always count on). The plural is menschen. Meshuggener (me-SHOO-ge-ner) n./adj. (A) crazy; crazy person.
Mishmash n. Hodgepodge; mixed-up mess. Mishpocha (MISH-pokh-a) n. Extended family. Mitzvah (MITS-vah) n. Commandment; good deed. Naches (NAKH-es) n. proud pleasure; special joy - especially over the acheivements of a child; gratification (esp. from grandparents). Nebbish (NEB-bish) n. Loser. Incompetent nerd. Pitiful person. No-goodnick (no good-nik) n. (Yinglish) A good-for-nothing person. Noodge (noodge) v. to pester, nag, whine; as a noun, a pest or whiner Nosh (nosh) n. snack; bite; (let’s sit and have a ~); v. to snack; nibble (noshing on a cookie). Oy! (OIY) excl. Denotes disgust, pain, astonishment or rapture. Oy Gevalt! (OIY GE-VALT) phr. “Oh my G-d!” An exclamation of fear, panic, astonishment, etc. A cry for help; “May a great Power intervene!” (also as a noun: made an ~).
Oy Vey! Phr. How terrible! That’s horrible! Plotz (plotz) v. To explode (as with joy or food). (laugh until you ~!; eat until you ~!) Punim (POO-num) n. face (what’s with the long ~?) Shanda (SHAHN-deh) n. A shame; a scandal (as when your wife can’t wear her favorite shoes for a party). Shayna (SHAY-neh) adj. Pretty; precious (every baby has a ~ face). A shayna maideleh is a beautiful girl. Shlemazl (shle-MAZ’l) n. unlucky person; victim; (the poor ~ had his car stolen). Shlemiel (shlah-MEE-el) n. Fool; fumbler; dolt; clumsy person. Shlep (shlep) v. to drag; to lug; carry about laboriously; to accept a burden greater than anyone should be expected to bear; shlepper: n. Shlepper (SHLEP-er) n. A drip; a jerk; a shabby person; a nonentity who works for low wages. Shlock (shlock) n. shoddy article; adj. cheap; fake; defective (~ merchandise).
Shlump (shlump) n. Slob; someone with bad posture. Shmaltz (shmaltz) n. Chicken fat; lard; corn; pathos; mawkishness; shmaltzy: adj. Shmatte (SHMOT-eh) n. Rag; old tattered dress; shoddy clothing (you call this a dress? It’s a ~!). Also spelled schmatte. Shmeer (shmeer) n. or v.: spread (e.g., cream cheese on a bagel). Shmendrick (SHMEN-drik) n. Wimpy nebekh; pipsqueak; spineless and feeble man. Hence, a loser; dolt; nincompoop; inept person. Shmo (shmoe) n. A patsy, a sucker, hopelessly naive idiot. Shmooze (shmooze) v. To chat; network. (a lot of ~ing at the company cocktail party). Shnook (shnook) n. a gullible fool, a patsy, someone easy to take advantage of. Shnorrer (SHNOR-er) n. “Seeker of funds.” Pejoratively - Moocher; freeloader; someone who always wants a bite of your sandwich; beggar. Shnoz (SHNAHZ) n. Nose.
Shpiel (shpeel) n. a sales pitch or speech intended to persuade. Shtetl (SHTET-el) small town or village (usually of Eastern Europe). Shtik (SHTIK) n. “piece”; hence a routine; bit; an act; a piece of acting (what’s with the ~?) Shvitz (shvitz) v. 1) to sweat; perspire; 2) to brag; to boast (~ing about his business). Note that shvais is the noun form (perspiration). Tchotchke (TCHATZ-kah) literally, “treasure.” A trinket, a bauble, a coveted object, a knickknack. “Tchotchkellah” which is the diminutive means, “my little treasure.” Tuchas (TOO-khas) n. buttocks; tush; rear-end (fell right on her ~). Yarmulke (YAR-mul-keh) n. Skull cap. A Jewish head-covering, esp. for males during prayer or during prayer services. In Hebrew, “kippah.” Customs about what it looks like, who wears it, and when it is worn have varied from time to time and from place to place. Yenta (YEN-ta) Busybody; gossip. Sources: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Glossary/Yiddish_Words/yiddish_words.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Yiddish_origin
