Jewish English Lexicon

a nechtiker tog

Not on your life!

An impossible occurrence

Forget about it!

Whom is he trying to kid?

aleichem sholom

Peace be upon you. Response to "sholom aleichem"

alte kaker

elderly person, old-timer [literally "old shitter"] "A crotchety, fussy, ineffectual old man." (Rosten)

aroisgevorfene gelt

"a waste of money"; lit., thrown out money.

balaboosta

1) Female head of household 2) Impressively competent homemaker

berya

"Complimentary term for a talented, competent, energetic woman, especially one who gets a lot done - and does it well - around the house." (JPS Dictionary of Words)

bialy

A round, crusty chewy bread roll with an indented center well, the bialy is usually topped with toasted onionsâ€”andâ€”at its most authenticâ€”with poppy seeds. (JPS)

A flat breakfast roll, shaped like a round wading pool, sometimes sprinkled with onion. (Rosten)

Borscht Belt

region in the Catskill Mountains with many summer resorts frequented by Jews, especially in the mid twentieth century

boychick

"A young boy...equivalent of the American expression 'buddy'" (JPS)

bubbe meise

"Something of little importance, an inconsequential thing or minor happening." (JPS)

"old wive's tale"; an untrue story, sometimes related to superstition

bulbenik

One who is inept, clumsy, all thumbs, who fouls things up (Rosten)

An actor "who talks as though he has a potato in his mouth"â€”that is, an actor who "blows" his lines, mixes them up, commits embarrassing spoonerisms, a malaprop

bulvan

loud mouth know-it-all; "a boorish, brutish person" (Steinmetz)

Chelm

from Yiddish literature/folklore, "The 'legendary' town inhabited by befuddled, stupid, foolish, but endearing people." (JPS). Also a real town in Poland (CheÅ‚mno).

farbissiner

adj. embittered, sullen, mean

n. sourpuss, mean person

farblondzhet

Rosten: "Lost...mixed up, wandering about without any idea of where you are." Can refer to being physically or intellectually lost.

farshtunken(e)

literally 'stinking' (Rosten); contemptible

fartootst

"The state of being bewildered, disoriented, discombobulated; slightly more intense than tsedrayt." (Rosten)

feh!

an expression of disgust; "portraying...negative feelings" (Rosten)

fress

To gobble up food; to gorge oneself. "To eat quickly or noisily, like an animal" (JPS)

golem

"A creature of Jewish medieval folklore, a golem is a figure made into the form of a human and given life." (JPS)

Hak mir nisht keyn tshaynik

Literally, don't knock a teakettle at me

Stop annoying me

Don't bother me

hazarai

junk food

"Junk, trash" (Rosten)

treyf (non-kosher) food

hoo-ha

hullabaloo, commotion

vagina

interjection of admiration or astonishment

kaddishl

A son who will say kaddish for a parent (literally, "little kaddish").

kasha

buckwheat groats, commonly served with bowtie noodles ('kasha varnishkes'); porridge

keinehora

"no evil eye" (Rosten). "An expression said to ward off the evil eye or bad luck in general; the verbal equivalent of knocking on wood." (JPS)

kishka

"Stuffed derma: a sausagelike comestible of meat, flour, and spices stuffed into intestine casing and baked" (Rosten) Also, "guts," literally, Slavic. (Wikipedia)

knaidel

matzah ball; "a dumpling made of matzah meal meal and beaten eggs, usually served in chicken broth, often at the Pesach seder" (JPS)

kochleffel

A cooking spoon, as for soup. By extension, a person who stirs up trouble; meddler, busybody.

kvell

feel or express pride, "to be extraordinarily pleased" (JPS)

kvetch

"to chronically complain or gripe to others over minor issues" (JPS)

Someone who comes from the same or nearby hometown, especially if one or both of you no longer lives there and all the more so if one or both now live far away from home, in which case an entire region (e.g., metro NY) or country e.g., Poland) may be the point of connection.

mouth, loud-mouth, similar to English slang "trap" for mouth.

"An untalented loser; a whiner; a petty person" (JPS).

"punch; bump; slam" (Steinmetz)