aleichem sholom

Peace be upon you. Response to "sholom aleichem"

am haaretz

Bumpkin, ignoramus, uneducated person

Vulgar, boorish person

People of the land

averah

religious transgression (Glinert: "An aveirah is an infringement on the Torah, the opposite of a mitzvah.")

balaboosta

1) Female head of household 2) Impressively competent homemaker

balabos

Male head of a household

Proprietor

balabotish

"Quiet; respectable; well mannered" (Rosten). "middle class"; normal

batlan

"naive, impractical person" (Steinmetz)

"Someone without a trade or regular means of livelihood" (Rosten).

"One who consistently wastes time: Bum, Fainéant" (Weiser).

"A misfit, such as a Talmud student of no promise" (Rosten).

"Someone with intellectual pretensions and half-baked ideas" (Rosten).

"Layabout" (Glinert)

"An unemployed or lazy man" (Rosten).

bubbale

sweetie, darling [term of endearment]

cheder

Hebrew and religious classes (often on Sundays) for elementary school children.

fress

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

gemara

"A compilation of 300 years of rabbis' legal and ethical commentaries on the Mishnah...together, the Gemara and the Mishnah comprise the Talmud." (JPS)

goyish

"in the manner or style of a non-Jewish person" (JPS), especially something WASPy or "white bread"

halevai

"Would that it be so" (Steinmetz, Yiddish and English)

I wish!

If only

heimish

3. at home, comfortable

1. familiar, homey, informal, cozy, warm

2. Haredi Orthodox

kallah

bride

Jewish communal gathering, conference

kashe

A question posing some difficulty because of apparent inconsistencies with accepted premises: problem. A tough, perplexing question.

Question, difficulty (Steinmetz), challenge, objection.

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)

mazel

congratulations

luck (good)

mazume

"A group of three or more adult males who join together to recite the after-meal blessings..." (Steinmetz).

"ready money, cash" (Steinmetz)

nebach

interjection, adverb: "unfortunately"; noun: an unfortunate person

ongepotchket

overly elaborate, excessively decorated, slapped together senselessly

patsh

a smack (playful)

to give a light slap

prost

coarse, base, not classy, vulgar, common

rachmones

mercy, pity, empathy

reb

"sir"; "mister"

Shabbos goy

"A non-Jew who by prearrangement performs chores [that are forbidden] for a Jew on the Sabbath or holidays." (Steinmetz)

shidduch

arranged spousal match

mate

match

a date in the process of finding one's spouse

shtrayml

A hat trimmed with fur pieces, typically worn by Hassidim on Shabbat.

tate

dad

tzadik

A highly learned and esteemed rabbinic leader (sometimes used as an alternative name for a Hasidic rebbe).

Common name for the 18th letter of the Hebrew alphabet (tzadi / tzade).

Someone who does extremely righteous deeds.

tzimmes

"A prolonged procedure, and involved business, a mix-up" (Rosten).

"A sweet, baked dish of vegetables or fruit. Carrot tzimmes, a popular version, includes carrots, sweet potatoes, dried apricots, raisins, sugar, and cinnamon" (JPS).

"Troubles, difficulties, a contretemps" (Rosten).

yichus

"Pedigree, lineage, family background." (JPS)

Bragging rights based on respected family history

yid

a Jewish person

A derogatory term used by non-Jews for a Jewish person (particularly so in Great Britain).