zets

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Pronunciations

zetz (ZEHTS) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A punch.

  • n. A blow, setback.

Example Sentences

  • "He gave me a zets I'll never forget!" (Rosten)

  • "Breaking her hip was a zetz she didn't need." (JPS)

  • "Don't make me give you a zetz!" (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • זעטס zets 'punch, blow'

      • Who Uses This

      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      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).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

      Alternative Spellings

      zetz

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