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Apr 29, 2002
This week's themeWords borrowed from Yiddish This week's words chutzpah mensch zaftig kvetch schlep Follow us on 
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu GargA language is the soul of its people. This is nowhere illustrated more profoundly than in the Yiddish language, the language of Jews of eastern and central Europe and their descendants. A tongue full of wit and charm, Yiddish embodies deep appreciation of human behavior in all its colorful manifestations. The word Yiddish comes from German Judisch meaning Jewish. But it is not the same as Hebrew, even though it is written in Hebrew script. Here's what Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer had to say about the language in his 1978 Nobel Prize acceptance speech:
"Yiddish language - a language of exile, without a land, without
frontiers, not supported by any government, a language which possesses
no words for weapons, ammunition, military exercises, war tactics ...
There is a quiet humor in Yiddish and a gratitude for every day of life,
every crumb of success, each encounter of love. The Yiddish mentality is
not haughty. It does not take victory for granted. It does not demand
and command but it muddles through, sneaks by, smuggles itself amidst
the powers of destruction, knowing somewhere that God's plan for
Creation is still at the very beginning ...
In a figurative way, Yiddish is the wise and humble language of us all,
the idiom of frightened and hopeful Humanity."
Many of the everyday English language words such as bagel, klutz, and kibitz are terms from Yiddish. This week we'll look at a few other Yiddishisms that have enriched the English language. chutzpah
chutzpah or chutzpa (KHOOT-spuh, HOOT-) noun: Shameless impudence, brazen nerve, gall, effrontery. [From Yiddish khutspe, from Late Hebrew huspa.]
"Bill Gates, the company's chairman, even had the chutzpah to say that
this week's ruling was a challenge to 'healthy competition in the
software industry'."
X-BonusI look for what needs to be done. ... After all, that's how the universe designs itself. -R. Buckminster Fuller, engineer, designer, and architect (1895-1983) |
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