al regel achat

Alternative Spellings

al regel akhes, al regel ahat, al regel achas

Definitions

• lit. "on one foot"; off-the-cuff; "To answer a question or deal with a query very briefly and cursorily." (Glinert)

Example Sentences

• Answering a question that requires a long response: "Al regel achat, [a short answer]."

Languages of Origin

Textual Hebrew, Yiddish

Etymology

From Heb על רגל אחת al régel akhát, Yiddish על־רגל־אַחת al-regl-ákhes 'on one foot; quickly'

Who Uses This

Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
Israel: Diaspora Jews who feel connected to Israel and have spent time there

Regions

North America

Dictionaries

Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).

Notes

From a Talmudic story about Rabbi Hillel summarizing the Torah to a potential convert while standing on one foot. This corresponds word-for-word (and in meaning) to the other Yiddish expression אויף אײן פֿוס af eyn fus, derived from the Germanic component.