kalike

Alternative Spellings

kolike, kalyike, kolyike, kalika, kolika, kalyika, kolyika, kalikeh, kolikeh, kalyikeh, kolyikeh, kalikah, kolikah, kalyikah, kolyikah

Definitions

• 1. Cripple 2. Someone who is sickly 3. A clumsy person 4. A stupid ignorant man 5. An inept performer, a singer off-key, a pianist who hits the wrong notes, a waiter who spills the soup.

Example Sentences

• As a dancer, they are a kalike! (Rosten)

Languages of Origin

Yiddish

Etymology

Yiddish קאַליקע kalike

Who Uses This

Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage
Russian: Jews with recent Russian-speaking ancestry in Russia

Dictionaries

The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).

Notes

to rhyme with 'doll yucca'