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*In Yiddish, "zeks-vort" means six word
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*In Yiddish, "zeks-vort" means six word
In 1969, the late Erma Bombeck wrote that" men speak approximately six words a day in their homes...The six words are not necessarily spoken in sequence, nor are they necessarily spoken to wives."She adds, "Part of man's silence is woman's doing. We created the strong, silent, masculine image."
Ms. Bombeck gives the following examples of 6-word expressions:
"The dog isn't lost, is he?"
"No. No. No. No. No. No."
"What do you want me to say?"
"Where's the rest of the paper?"
Today we have 6-word headlines which read:
"Hil Gets Her Fill - 36 Mil!"
"Bush Googles, But E-Mail Is Out"
"Elizabeth Edwards: I'd Stay Outta Cabinet"
"Breaking News: Superman May Be Jewish"
"Kodak Moments Occur Under the Chuppah"
"Study: Chinese Food is 'Safe Freyf'"
"Clergy Put Their Faith in YouTube"
"Zhlub - A Word With No Personality"
(William Safire)
"Nu? Conservative Synagogues Promote
the Mamaloshen"
(The United Synagogue Review)
"Haroseth Cancels Out the Bitter Herbs"
("1,003 Great Things About Being Jewish")
"Sermon: The Ten Commandments of Chocolate"
According to the website,
"
SixWordShortStory," Ernest Hemingway
once wrote a story in just six words: "For
sale: baby shoes, never worn." He is said
to have called it his best work.
"SixWordShortStory" gave some additional examples:
"Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented
rocket."
(William Shatner)
"Batman Sues Batsignal: Demands
Trademark Royalties."
(Corey Doctorow)
"back of the bus, rosa! - NO!"
(Isabella Mori)
"Life! It's nothing like the brochure!"
(JoJo)
"Do I look fat in this?"
(Canian Clarke)
Wired magazine set a challenge to writers
(mainly science-fiction novelists) to compose six-word responses:
"It's behind you! Hurry, before it..."
(Rockne S. O'Bannon)
"The baby's blood type? Human, mostly."
(Orson Scott Card)
"Time machine reaches future! Nobody
there..."
(Harry Harrison)
"Wife returns. Lettuce crisp again."
(Damian Clarke)
"Tick tock tick tock tick tick."
(Neal Stephenson)
And Molly Katz ("Jewish as a Second Language") wrote,
"That haircut emphasizes your double chin."
After careful consideration, I've made a list of the most frequently used 6-word Yiddish expressions used by many Jewish husbands:
1. Don't make a fuss about it.
"Makh nit keyn tsimes fun dem."
2. Let's talk about more cheerful things.
"Lomir redn fun freylikher zakhn"
3. The biggest trouble--a shrewish wife.
"Di gresteh tsoreh--a veib a klafteh."
4. All of life is a struggle.
"Dos gantseh leben iz a milchomeh."
5. If you seek, you will find.
"Az me zucht, gefint men."
6. It is written: silence is wisdom.
"Es shtait doch geshribben:
chochmoh-shtikoh."
7. Children without a childhood are tragic."
"Kinder on kindhayt zynen tragish."
8. You shouldn't know from bad.
"Zolst nit visn fun keyn shlekhts."
9. You should live and be well.
"Zolst lebn un zayn gezunt."
10. From your mouth to God's ears.
Fun dayn moyl in Got's oyern."
11. What are you bothering me about?
"Vos dreyste mir a kop?"
12. "You should be ashamed of yourself.
"Shem zikh in dayn vaytn haldz."
13. I'm not the least bit interested.
"Zol ikh azoy visn fun tsores."
14. Don't give me the evil eye.
"Gib mir nit keyn eyn-ore."
15. Money makes the word go around.
"Az men hot di matbaieh, hot men di
daieh."
16. You can't take it with you
"Takhrikhim macht men un keshenes."
17. To assume is to be deceived.
"Az men maint, genart men zich."
18. Prayer is heard best at night.
"Bei nacht hert zich veit"
____________
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe still remembers
the 6-word anti-semetic Florida real estate
ad which read:
"always a view, never a Jew."
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