tachlis

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Pronunciations

tachlis (TACH-liss) listen

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Definitions

  • n. Purpose, aim.

  • n. Practical details of a matter, "brass tacks" (as in, "Let's get down to brass tacks.")

Example Sentences

  • "We should decide if we want to focus on the broad vision and philosophy or the tachlis" (a rabbi to her staff when deciding what the topic of the next meeting should be). "He is thinking about these questions in a very sophisticated but also very tachlis sort of way" (an academic to other academics).

  • "When you get down to tachlis it means you stop talking about generalities and get down to the heart of the matter. When a girl dates a boy for the purpose of finding a mate she is said to be dating with tachlis in mind; when you ask a boy who is dating your daughter if he has tachlis, you are asking him whether he is serious about your daughter."

  • "Tachlis! What do you want?"

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Heb תכלית takhlít 'purpose, aim, object; end, limit', Yiddish תּכלית tákhles

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Organizations: People involved in a professional or volunteer capacity with Jewish nonprofit organizations

      Regions

      • North America
      • 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).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
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      Alternative Spellings

      takhlis, tachles, takhles

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