Hebrew Language - Yiddish Words Used by English Speakers

This is a list of words and phrases used by speakers whose English has been heavily influenced by Yiddish, especially speakers of Yinglish. Unlike most of the words in the list of English words of Yiddish origin, these words have not been assimilated into English and are unlikely to be understood by English speakers who do not have substantial Yiddish influence. Leo Rosten's book, The Joys of Yiddish, explains these words (and many more) in detail.

* A shande - a disgrace; one who brings embarrassment through mere association
* "A shande far di goyim" - "A shame in front of the goyim," the scathing criticism of Judge Julius Hoffman by Abbie Hoffman during the trial of the Chicago Eight
* Ay-ay-ay (sometimes spelled "ai-yi-yi") (אײַ־אײַ־אײַ)
* Abi gezunt! - "As long as you're healthy!"; often used as an ironic punchline to a joke
* Aleichem sholem - "To you be peace" (the polite response to a greeting of "Sholem Aleichem")
* Alter kacker (or alter kocker) - a lecherous old man; an old fart
* Bisel - a small amount, "a pinch of" something
* Bubkes (also spelled "bupkis") - nothing, as in He isn't worth bubkes (from Yiddish bopkes 'little beans')
* Chazarai - junk, garbage, junk food (in Yiddish, khazerai 'filth', from khazer 'pig')
* Chutzpah - ballsiness, guts, daring, audacity
* Ess - to eat, especially used in the imperative: Ess! Ess!
* Farbissen (far-BISS-en) adj. Bitter; sullen; crippled by bitterness. Also farbissener.
* Farblondzhet - lost, bewildered, confused, mixed-up (appropriately, there are several variant spellings)
* Farkakte - (an adjective whose usage resembles English goddamn; literally, 'shitty')
* Feygele - homosexual (literally 'little bird')
* Fress - to eat, especially with enthusiasm
* Gelt - money
* Genug (גענוג) - enough
* Glick - a piece of good luck
* Gonef - thief (גנבֿ ganef)
* Gornisht - nothing, not a bit, for naught
* Goy - Gentile (גוי, plural גוים goyim, Hebrew 'nation(s)', i.e., the nations outside of Israel)
* Heymish (also hamish) - home-like, friendly, folksy
* Ipish - a bad odor
* Kadoches - a fever; frequently occurs in oaths of ill-will (e.g., "I'll give him a kadoches is what I'll give him!)
* Keyn aynhoreh - lit., "No evil eye!" spoken to avert a curse after something or someone has been praised
* Klop - a loud bang or wallop
* Krankhayt - a sickness
* Kvell (קװעל) - beam/ be proud
* Litvak - a Jew of Lithuanian ancestry
* Macher (מאַכער) - big shot, important person (e.g. within an organization)
* Mazel (מזל mazl) - luck
* Mazel tov! (מזל־טובֿ!‏ mazl tov) - congratulations! (literally, 'good luck', from Hebrew)
* Megillah - a long, boring document or discourse (from Yiddish מגילה megile, from Hebrew 'scroll')
* Mensch - an upright man; a decent human being (from Yiddish מענטש mentsh 'person')
* Meshugge (משוגען meşugn) - crazy
* Mishegoss - insane situation, irrationality (from Yiddish meshugas, from meshuge 'crazy')
* Mishpoche - family (from Yiddish משפּחה mishpokhe)
* Mohel - a professional religious circumciser (from Hebrew מוהל)
* Nachas (נחת) - pride (usage: I have nachas from you)
* Nasheray - snack food
* Nu - multipurpose interjection often analogous to "well?" or "so?"; of the same linguistic origin as English now
* Nudnik (נודניק) - pest, "pain in the neck", originally from Polish ("nuda" in Polish means "boredom")
* Oy vey (אױ װײ) - (Oh no! -- literally, 'Oh, pain!')
* Oy gevalt (אױ גװאַלד) - Oh no! (from Yiddish gvald 'emergency')
* Pisher - a male infant; a little squirt; a nobody
* Plotz - to burst, as from strong emotion: "I was so angry, I thought I'd plotz!" (from Yiddish פּלאַצן platsn 'to crack')
* Punim - the face (Yiddish ponem, from Hebrew)
* Pupik - the navel
* Putz - unclean penis; stupid 'dirty' person (from Yiddish פּאָץ pots)
* Sheygetz (שגץ، שײגעץ) - Gentile male (plural שקצים shkotsim)
* Shabbes goy - a Gentile who performs labour forbidden on the Sabbath for observant Jews; sometimes used (by implication) for someone who "does the dirty work" for another person (from Yiddish Shabbes, Sabbath + goy, a non-Jew)
* Sheyne meydel - a beautiful girl
* Shiksa (שיקסע) - young Gentile woman, generally used derisively
* Shlemiel - an inept, clumsy person
* Shlimazl - unlucky person (שלימזל shlimazl, from shlim 'bad' and mazl 'luck'). The difference between a shlemiel and a shlimazl is described through the aphorism, "A shlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup; a shlimazl is the person the soup lands on." One of the ten non-English words that were voted Words hardest to translate in June 2004 by a British translation company
* Shmatte - an old rag. Used literally: I spilled the coffee, bring me a shmatte, quick! Used figuratively (usu. derisively): That fancy dress she spent half her husband's money on just looked like a shmatte to me.
* Shmuck - a contemptible or foolish person; a jerk; literally means 'penis' (taken from Yiddish shmok 'penis')
* Shmutz - dirt
* Shnorrer (שנאָרער) - beggar or person always asking others for hand-outs or services
* Shpilkes - upset stomach, or simply nervous energy (like before an interview)
* Shtark, shtarker -- strong, brave
* Shtum - quiet (שטום shtum 'mute')
* Shtup - to have sex, screw (from Yiddish שטופּן shtupn 'push, poke')
* Shvartzer (שװאַרצער) - Black person (derog.) (from שװאַרץ shvarts 'black'); by inference, "the maid"
* "Svet gornisht helfen" - "It won't help a bit," punchline of joke about a cross-wielding maiden who confronts a Jewish vampire
* Shvitz - A steam bath
* Tochis - rear end (from Yiddish תּחת tokhes)
* Traif (or trayf) - forbidden, non-Kosher foods; anything forbidden
* Tsaddik - Pious, righteous person; one of the 36 legendary saints for whose sake G-d does not destroy the world
* Tsuris - troubles (from Yiddish צרות tsores)
* Verklempt - choked with emotion
* Yenta - a talkative woman; a gossip; a blabbermouth; a scold
* Yichus - pedigree, family background
* Yiddisher kop - intelligence (lit. "Jewish head")
* Yiddisher mazel - bad luck (lit. "Jewish luck")

From:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiddish_words_and_phrases_used_by_English_speakers

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