Jewish Grandmother to English Dictionary Quiz

Answer: A complainer or whiner

In Yiddish the word "kvetch" literally means to squeeze into something, such as a shoe, that is too small. Like many words in Yiddish you can find parallels to German and Hebrew as well as other semitic and Indo-European languages. In German "quetschen" means to squeeze. However, in common usage "kvetch" is used to mean a person who complains or whines incessantly. Interestingly, modern Yiddish webpages often use "kvetch" to mean click.

Answer: A know it all

A maven is a term for a show-off or an expert used generally sarcastically as a rebuke when a person displays knowledge arrogantly. The root of the word is from Hebrew where "mevin" which is translated positively as "one who understands".

To understand the complicated history of the development of Yiddish as a language, you need to understand the history of European Jewish migrations in the Middle Ages. With the dominance of Christianity, assured Jews were often placed at odds with the Church and the closely tied aristocracy. Beginning around the 10th Century Jewish populations, what we would come to call "Ashkenazi" Jews, migrated from France and Lombardy and established settlements in central Germany. During the next 100 years or so the population in this area created a distinctive language that fused elements of French, Italian and German to reflect the European migrations of the Jews; along with elements of Hebrew, Aramaic and even Persian to reflect the languages of the Jews origins in the Middle East.

Answer: A beggar

A "schnorrer" is a beggar or the type of person who uses guile or pleading to get other people to satisfy their needs and wants. The word is closely related to the German word "schnorrer" that means a person who begs or borrows small things like a bite of food or a cigarette.

Isreal Zangwill, the British author and Jewish social commentator wrote the 1894 satire entitled the "King of the Schnorrers" that popularized the phrase. Zangwill, who was referred to as the "Dickens of the Ghetto" in 19th Century England, is also credited with coining the phrase "melting pot" to describe the assimilation of various ethnic groups into a combined American culture in his highly successful 1909 play "The Melting Pot".

Answer: The person was of little value

A "nebbisch" is generally a person who is of little value or consequence and is also used to describe a person who is a simpleton, weakling or simply awkward. As Yiddish derogatory phrases go it is considered mild and spoken almost with sympathy or affection. The derivation of the word in Yiddish seems to follow from Slavic languages such as the Czech word "neboh" which means unfortunate or unendowed or the Hebrew word "navoch", which means "confused" or "embarrassed.

After having been initially developed in the central German regions, Yiddish as a language continued to change as Jews spread north and east. In the thirteenth century, Jews migrated in larger numbers into the Slavic areas to escape increased persecution in France and Germany. Yiddish altered to include the Slavic languages prevalent in the east and changed from a mostly Germanic based dialect to a more independent language.

Answer: I complain, but I keep going

A popular Yiddish phrase "me krechts, me geht veyter" meaning to complain and move forward shows both the German antecedents of Yiddish and the cultural connection of the language to Jewish experience. The German verb "gehen" means to go and is the root for the Yiddish "geht". But the phrase is more than the sum of the words.

Much of the movement of Jews in middle Ages Europe was to escape anti-Semitism and overt religious intolerance. Outside of their own community the Ashkenazi Jews found few sympathetic or supportive ears. The idea of complaints falling on deaf ears became an ingrained part of the culture. It was expected that you would have a lot to complain about, but that you were nonetheless expected to shoulder the burden and go on.

Answer: Good luck or congratulations

"Mazel tov" means good luck and congratulations. The phrase derives from the Hebrew words for good fortune "mazzal tob". This in turn seems to be related to the older Hebrew word for constellation or "mazzaloth". "Mazel tov" is an example of the connection between Yiddish and Hebrew. Yiddish is primarily a spoken language and does not have a separate alphabet of its own. Yiddish words are written using Hebrew characters and the sounds of the Hebrew letters are for the most part parallel to the sounds in Yiddish.

Like many other languages Yiddish phrases are subject to contextual nuance. The word "mazel tov" always means congratulations; but the vocal inflection and surrounding commentary will be a clue as to whether the speaker is sincere or expressing sarcasm. In this case my Jewish grandmother would without any doubt been using her high-pitched sarcastic inflection.

For the record it only took me four years to finish college and being the head fry cook at McDonalds was an honor and a privilege.

Answer: I am in the middle of something

"Mitn derinnen" literally means "all of a sudden". However the phrase "in mitn derinnen" has evolved to mean "I am in the middle of something and will get there when I can". In common usage many people will use "in mitn derinnen" to mean an unwanted distraction at an inopportune time such as "in mitn derinnen with my wife yelling at me and the baby crying the telephone rings and it's my boss wanting to discuss the Jackson deal".

Answer: Clumsy and bad luck

A "schlemiel" is a person who is a bungler and screw up. "Schlemiel" can be used for an incompetent but well meaning person who can not be trusted to accomplish basic tasks without mistakes or being taken advantage of by others. The word comes from the Hebrew word for ineffective or incompetent. A "schlimazel" on the other hand is an unlucky person. "Schlimazels" are the born losers of the world where bad things happen to them and those around them. The word "schlimazel" is a classic example of a unique Yiddish word. In both Dutch and Middle German a "slimp or shlimm" meant wrong or awry; while "mazel" is the Hebrew word for luck; when combined in Yiddish the word becomes "wrong luck"

In a classic Vaudeville skit the difference between the two types of people is played out for humor. A clumsy waiter named "Schlemiel" trips and spills hot soup into the lap of the customer named "Schimazel". As for the opening of "Laverne & Shirley" there are claims that the reference to "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 schlemiel, schlimazel hasenpfeffer (German rabbit stew) incorporated" comes from an American-Yiddish song used by children playing the game hopscotch; but there is no reliable evidence to support this claim. However both star Penny Marshall ("Laverne") and the producer/creator Gary Marshall(brother of Penny) grew up amongst the Yiddish population of New York and could have recalled a street game from their youth.

Answer: A half truth is a whole lie

"A halber emes iz a gantser ligen" is translated as a half truth (halber emes) is a whole lie (gantser ligen). Half truths are falsehoods cloaked in some element of truth. The phrase reminds a person that intentionally deceiving someone with limited information or fact/fiction mixed is ultimately the same as being dishonest. Yiddish is a language that has spawned numerous aphorism's and phrases that have been translated into languages across the world. The spread of Ashkenazi Jews across Europe and later the Americas is a major reason for the wide usage of Yiddish idiom and phrases.

Each of the incorrect answers are also well known Yiddish phrases. "Az me est chazzer, zol rinnen fun bord" translates to "if you are going to be bad -- enjoy it", "a halber nar iz a gantser khokhem" means "a half-fool is a very wise man"; and one of my personal favorites is "a ligner darf hoben a guten zechron" or a liar must have a good memory.

Answer: Russian or Ukranian

Blintzes are a stable of the Jewish kitchen. The blintz is the Yiddish word for thin flour dough that is similar to crepes or thin German pancakes. Usually however the blintz is folded around a sweet filling then either fried or baked to form a round or cylindrical shape.

The Russo/Ukranian word "blini" or "bliny" describes a similar food that is made of unyeasted flour and baked or fried. Unlike blintzes the blini are usually served as a pancake and fillings are added afterwards. A common use for a small blini would be as part of an appetizer with sour cream and caviar.

The French crepe is distinguished in Russia usually by its thicker batter and larger size and is usually called a "blinchiki".

Answer: Zalts im in di oygn un fefer im in noz

Zalts is Yiddish for salt and is close to the German "salz"; while "fefer" is and also similar to the German "pfeffer". The phrase is by nature a mild Yiddish curse and would best be said when someone is making light of another persons troubles. "A geshvir im in haldz" translates to an "abscess in his throat" and would be used when you want an unpleasant speaker to be silenced. "Keyn eyn-hore zol im nit oysmaydn" translates to "let no evil eye avoid him" and would be a comeback to a person who has spoken against an innocent out of jealousy or envy. "Ale tseyn zoln dir aroysfaln, nor eyner zol dir blaybn af tsonveytik" is a rather inventive curse that translates to may all your teeth fall out, except one to give you a toothache.

Answer: Serious troubles

With my apologies to the classic spiritual song recorded by Louis Armstrong and Marion Anderson amongst others, but "tsuris" is the Yiddish word for serious troubles derived from the Hebrew word "tsarot". "Tzimmes" is a delicious sweet stew of fruit (raisins, prunes, apricots usually) and root vegetables (sweet potatoes and carrots), while knickknacks and small objects are called "tchotchkes" and derive from the Slavic languages such as the Russian word for trinket "tsatski". "Schmutz" is the Yiddish word for a small amount of dirt and can often be heard when your Jewish grandmother spits into a tissue and says "come here boychick (little boy) let me wipe the schmutz off your face".

Answer: Plotz

Plotz is an interesting Yiddish word. Literally "plotz" means to explode and is taken form the German word "platzen" for cracking. In general usage the word means don't get so aggrevated or don't have a stroke (or in Bart's case a cow). Plotz was one of the first Yiddish words I learned since my grandmother would often tell my mother to "plotzen nicht jungen zie est jungen" (calm down, boys will be boys).

"Schmaltz" is chicken fat often used in Jewish cooking stables such as chopped liver; "schmaltzy" however, means to being overly sentimental and is used critically. A "spiel" is a sales pitch used sarcastically as in "every time I talk to your brother he gives me the same 'spiel' about how I should invest with his broker Bernie Madoff." "Shtick" is something you often do repeatedly either to get attention or as part of a routine. As in "is this quiz going to use the same 'shtick' about a Jewish grandmother for every question?"

Answer: Leave him alone, he is just a small boy

"Lozn" means "leave" in Yiddish and is similar enough to English that a non-Yiddish speaker can sense the relationship; where "alyn" is also vaguely related to the English word "alone" as both are a derivation of the German "allyn". Similarly in German a small boy is a "kleiner junge". I heard this phrase so often that even if my grandmother was not around I would tell my father to "lozn me allyn..." and my parents would start to laugh hard enough to forget what they were mad about. The Yiddish word for rear end "tukhus" is quite common in American slang, as is the shortened version "tush".

As Slavic and German Jews made their way to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries Yiddish remained the spoken language of the Jewish immigrants. As Jews assimilated into the American culture and assumed roles in the arts and entertainment Yiddish words migrated into the common vernacular and were Americanized. Today words like "chutzpah" (gall or nerve), "schmooze" (small meaningless talk) and "klutz" (a clumsy person) are considered mainstream English.

Answer: Bupkis

"Bupkis" is another Yiddish word that has been subsumed with in the American vernacular. Commonly the word is used to mean nothing or if possible less than nothing. There are two schools of thought on the words derivation. Many people believe the word is derived from the Slavic (Russian) word for beans "bopki". While other language scholars say the modern usage of "bupkis" is a reduction of an older Yiddish word "kozebupkes" or "goat droppings". This word, in turn, is a compound comprising the Slavic words koza "goat" + bob "beans" + ki "little". The Slavic "bob" for bean shares an origin with the Latin "faba" which became the Italian "fava" bean and "Silence of the Lambs" fame.

"Bubbeh" and "zaideh" are the Yiddish words for grandmother and grandfather respectively; while "mensch" means an honest man in both Yiddish and German. Putting this all together you might get a sentence in American/Yiddish like "Your zaideh may be a mensch but he doesn't know bupkis about Fun Trivia".

Answer: In a beautiful apple you sometimes find a worm

Sheynem translates to beautifiul, "sheyna" is a diminutive form and means pretty. "Epl" is of course apple and a "vorem" is a worm. Many Yiddish phrases reflect the necessity of accepting the often volatile life faced by Ashkanazi Jews in Europe as religious intolerance and cultural isolation were consistent problems.

Another Yiddish phrase (though disputed as to origin) is "keyner veys nit vemen der shukh kvetsht, nor der vos geyt in im" which means literally "no one knows whose shoe pinches except the person who walks in it".

Answer: Meshuga

"Meshuga" comes from the Hebrew word for crazy "masugga" and is the adjective form of the Yiddish word. A "meshugenneh" is a crazed woman and "meshugenner" the masculine form. A closely related word is "mishegoss" which means an ill-advised or senseless activity. If you want to amp up the phrase you might exclaim "Meshugeh ahf toit!" which means crazy as a loon. "Macher" is a sarcastic reference to an important man or a "maker".

A "noodge" is also a word that has become part of the American vernacular and refers to a person who is annoying or constantly bothering you for something such as "Don't be a 'noodge' and stop asking me for candy." Finally a "mamzer" is the Yiddish parallel to the Hebrew word for corrupted at birth or more commonly a person born through an act of adultery, incest or out of wedlock.

Answer: A small town

"Shtetls" were small mostly rural towns with large Jewish populations in Europe. The word "stetl" is literally the diminutive of the Yiddish word for city "shtot" and is related to the old German word for city which is "städtl", now modernized to "stadt". Stetl's are distinguished from "ghettos" which mean the part of a city where Jews (and in modern times other minorities) were forced to live. It is believed that the first use of the term was to describe Venice's 1516 requirement on the area Jews could live within that city.

Life in the Eastern European stetls of the late 19th century was made famous in a series of stories by Yiddish writer Sholom Aleichem. Aleichem wrote about "Tevye the Milkman" and his popular series became the basis for the play/musical/movie "Fiddler on the Roof". Many of the Yiddish words that have become part of the English language were first popularized in Aleichem's stories. Aleichem (who real name was Sholem Naumovich Rabinovich) was often called the "Yiddish Mark Twain" owing to their similar comedic writing style and tremendous success. Aleichem was a staunch advocate of Yiddish as a national language for Jews; but also a Zionist seeking a settled Jewish homeland. He apparently suffered from triskedelephobia (fear of the number 13) and ironically died on May 13, 1916. In loving memory of Aleichem, his gravestone in the Queens New York cemetery of Old Mount Carmel reads his date of death as "May 12a".

Answer: Ready to cry

"Farklempt" and the similar "verklempt" are adjectives that describe strong emotions that produce an urge to cry. If there is a difference between the words it is only slight and "farklempt" seems to be used more when the emotion is happy and leaves you unable to speak for fear of bringing tears of joy; while "verklempt" can be used to also mean stunned speechless and on the verge of tears of frustration or worry. Both words seem to orginate from the German word for stuck "verklemmt".

To be angry in Yiddish is "beyzern zikh" and happy is "frailech". One of my favorite Yiddish words is "farblondzhet" which generally means someone who is lost or befuddled.

Answer: Blessed with children

"Kinder" is both the Yiddish and German word for children. The Yiddish word for a blessing is a "brocha" and the German word for blessed is "gesund" thus to be blessed becomes "gebentsht", taken together the phrase translates to blessed with children. To be filled with good health is the compound word "gezunterheyt" which is very similar to the German "gesundheit".

As is Jewish tradition my eldest child, Leah-Perle (Leah-Pesche in Yiddish) is named for my real Jewish grandmother.