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NEWSPAPER* HEADLINES BLAST
ANTHONY WEINER IN YIDDISH
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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A "gut" (good) newspaper reaches out, gets the reader's attention and jump starts him on his way to receiving "di yedie" (the message) that you have prepared for him.
In an e-mail, Michael Shapiro (wordsbymike.com) referred me to the words of the great IB Singer. "I used to try to see him whenever he spoke in NYC and at one lecture an audience member asked him why he continues to write in Yiddish (and have his work translated) when Yiddish was a dead language. Singer said that it was true that if you needed to describe a jet plane or a supercomputer or an ATM machine it was true that Yiddish would not be of much help. BUT if you wanted to call a person an 'idiot,' Yiddish gives you more choices than you need."
Here are some of the choices:
"umvisndik" (ignorant)
"narish" (stupid)
"leyminer goylem" (numbskull, clay dummy)
"nar" (fool)
"shmendrik" (fool)
"shmegege" (fool)
Yiddish has been used in newspapers for years. The New York Post (Sept. 20, 2004) had the following headline:
"Ketchup Kvetcher" [referred to Teresa Heinz Kerry]
And now to the Anthony Weiner story.
The Daily News headlines tell it all--with
Yiddish words:
6/7/11
"Yeah, I'm A Schmuck."
Tearful Rep. Anthony Weiner admitted
he sent pervy pictures of himself to at
least six kinky Internet strangers and
lied about it. He apologized and refused
to resign.
6/8/11
"PUTZ's Porn Star Says Weiner Coached
Her to Lie About Sexts."
We cannot say with "certitude"(a feeling
of absolute certainty or conviction) what
Anthony Weiner's "tsukunft" (future) holds.
S. E. Cupp (Daily News, 6/8/11) wrote, "I can
tell you that 'Weinergate has to be one of
the more uncomfortable, silly and
stomach-churning scandals I've ever covered. [She seriously questions his mental capacity] by asking, "Did he hit his
head? Has he been huffing paint?"
Newsday's 6/8/11 cover asks, "Can He Survive? Weiner fights for political life as firestorm rages on."
Tom Prendergast of Brooklyn, shows a "bobn humor" (sense of humor) in his letter to the Daily News (6/8/11):
"If Weiner is forced out of office he can always get an underwear ("untervesh") commercial. I can envision this: "He may not have brains, but he does wear Hanes."
Yes, Weiner admits, "Ikh hob geton epes shlekhts"--I have done something wrong. His constituency, however, may be thinking: "Yeder nar iz klug far zikh"--Every fool thinks he's smart.
The six-term Congressman, described a side of his life that he kept secret from his family and friends. He wept and "farkhiken zikh" (stammered). He will not be the next mayor of New York City.
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Marjorie Wolfe's favorite newspaper story as told by Mike Shapiro deals with The
Forward. He writes, "The Forwards was a
newspaper but it was not a newspaper in the sense that the New York Times or the
Wall Street Journal is a newspaper. Yes,
there was news but mostly there was advice
about how to get along in this great new
country. Among the writers of the Forwards were many columnists and one of
the most popular was a fellow named
Hymie Schmeckle. He was a humorist and
even his name was humorous. In fact, in
Yiddish, Shmeckle means Smile! It came to
pass that Hymie Schmeckle passed on and
it was only fitting that his obituary appeared in the paper for which he worked.
The headline of his obituary is one that
Hymie would certainly have liked to have
written. It stated simply: Hymie Schmeckle,
Schmeckle Nicht Mehr. English translation:
"Hymie the Smiler, Smiles No More." It
sounds better in Yiddish but it's still a great
headline.
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