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AS MUCH FUN AS TO SAY SHEYBOGIN
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On December 28, 2006, The New York Times ("The Arts") contained the following headline:
PENGUIN, SCHMENGUIN!
Those Are Savion Glover's Happy Feet!
In the book, "Yiddish with Dick and Jane," we read, 'Prozac Schmozac, at least she's more freylech now (kina-hora)."
Yiddish has innumerable words which begin with the letters "sh" or "sch." Let's examine some of them.
"shtummie"
A dope
Yankel, Minnie's young son comes rushing in from schol one day all out of breath, shvitzing, gasping for "luft" (air).
"Vos iz wrong?" cried Minnie.
"Oh, Mama, you'll be so proud of me! Today I saved the whole $2 fare by running behind the 'oytobus' all the way home."
"Shtummie," Mama replies, "You could have run behind a 'taksi' and saved $10."
"shnorrer"
Slang for beggar, moocher, or cheapskate
There's the story about the "schnorrer" who said to her mother, "Forget about dry cleaning a dress in Manhattan; it costs $8.50. I simply donate it to the Salvation Army. They launder it, dry clean it, & I buy it back for two bucks. I saved $6.50."
"Shame'outh"
Day on which you better call your mother
or else.
(Source: "1,003 Great Things About
Being Jewish" by Birnbach, Hodgman,
& Stone)
"shtikele"
A little piece
"Yo, a dank, efsher vel ikh take nemen nokh a shtikele.' (Yes, thanks, maybe I will have another teensy piece.) (Source: James A. Matisoff's book titled, "Blessings, Curses, Hopes, and Fears - Psycho-Ostensive Expressions in Yiddish")
"schlamazel"/"schlimazel"/"shlemazl"
Someone born under an unlucky star; a
born loser
An ad for IDT, the long distance carrier, read:
"Based on the Wall Street Journal, you have to be a shlamazel to be using AT&T, MCI, Sprint or Verizon."
When a "shlemazl" finds a $50 bill on the street, the first person he runs into is the goy he owes $51.00.
Leo Rosten wrote, "He is such a 'shlemazl' that his junk mail arrives 'Postage due.'"
Ruth and Bob Grossman, authors of the Italian-Kosher Cookbook, define a "shlumazel" as follows: "The fellow who when told, 'Sorry, next elevator!' answers, " That's the story of my life."
"schmaltz"
Rendered chicken or goose fat used for
frying or spreading on bread
Back in the shtetls in Europe a little boy is getting his daily piece off bread and schmaltz and he drops it on the ground. The bread falls schmaltz side up! He's so excited that he runs and tells his "melamed" (teacher): "I dropped my bread and schmaltz and it fell schmaltz side up." His teacher hits him across the head and says, " Why you lie! The bread always falls schmaltz side down."
The boy goes home and tells his mother, "I dropped my bread and schmaltz and it fell schmaltz side up." His motherhits him across the head and says, "Why you lie! The bread always falls schmaltz side down."
The boy's father has the same reaction, but before hitting him, he calls the rabbi. The rabbi thinks about it and says, "You put the schmaltz on the wrong side!"
P.S. May you always fall schmaltz side up! (Source: Jeryl Yourish)
"schlepper"
Someone who "shleps" or carries something; to drag someone someplace
they don't want to go; to move slowly; to
drag one's heels
According to Iris Burnett ("Schlepper! A Mostly True Tale of Presidential Politics"), a"schlepper" is a noun meaning one who carries heavy loads; a person who works diligently to achieve a goal; often used as a term of endearment in Jewish culture.
Burnett continues, A "schlepper" as an adjective is someone who is tired or messy. They're "schleppsic." A person dragging too many campaign posters is "schlepping." Someone who has been awake for 36 hours is shlepped-out. In political campaigns everyone starts as a schlepper."
"schlepptops"
According to Paul R. Hughes ("Another Word a Day" by Anu Garg), Germans--ever
the expert word combiners--occasionally
refer to laptop computers as "schlepptops."
"shadchen"
marriage brokers
Hennie Youngman ("Take My Life, Please") wrote, "In Yiddish, he was also a shadchen. Literally, this work is defined as 'matchmaker,' but I prefer Shalom Aleichem's definition of a shadchen as a 'dealer in livestock.'"
"shmendrick"
nincompoop or fool
In Jackie Mason and Raoul Felder's new book, "Schmucks: Our Favorite Fakes, Frauds, Lowlifes, and Liars," the authors insult many prominent people: Hillary, Bill, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and Katie Couric. Couric's spokesman, Matthew Hiltzig said-- referring to Mason and Felder, "Gee, are those two shmendricks still alive?"
"schnoz"/"shnoz"
A nose, especially a large nose
Some say that the word comes from the name of a character in an operetta by Avram Goldfaden.
Jimmy Durante was the radio and TV personality with a gigantic schnoz. There was a Seinfeld episode in which George's girlfriend has a big nose and gets a nose job. The nose job had disastrous results. Let that be a lesson: Don't mess with perfection.
In an episode of "I Love Lucy," Lucy and Desi go to Hollywood. While Desi is at work Lucy sees William Holden and is star struck. Of course, she makes a fool out of herself. Desi meets Mr. Holden at the studio and invites him to their house to meet his wife. Lucy is too embarrassed to face Holden again so she draws a large nose to disguise herself. (This may be the first instance of big nose makeup used this way on a TV show.)
"schmutz"
dirt, stain, or filth
When Temple Emanuel, the largest synagogue in New York City, had a $2.5 million floor-to-ceiling renovation (or $10,000 per "zitsort"--seat), Mark W. Weisstuch said, "We had 75 years of, to use the technical term, schmutz."
"schmear"/"schmeer"
The act of "spreading" a condiment, such as
cream cheese on a bagel.
Slang - A number of things that go together; an aggregate: She bought the
whole shmeer.
Columnist, Marge Perry, wrote, "What's that, you say, you've never heard of a schmear? Then your visit to Russ and Daughters, the place to go for smoked fish and caviar is long overdue. Since 1914, four generations of the family have been selling 'Jewish soul food' from the same Lower East Side address..."
Elvis "Schmelvis"
Dan Hartal is the world's only Orthodox
Jewish Elvis impersonator. He goes by the
moniker, Elvis Schmelvis and sings songs
with a Jewish Twist: "Jerusalem Hotel"
instead of "Heartbreak Hotel."
_____
Marjorie's favorite "sh" word is "shtinker."
A "shtinker" is a "rat" or one who "sings" to
the cops.
Source: "You Can't Do Business (or Most
Anything Else) Without Yiddish" by
Leon H. Gildin.
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