Yiddish with Dick and Jane Read Free Page B

for real merit. To an obscure Tasmanian novelist for winning the Nobel Prize: “Congratulations.” To Philip Roth:
“Mazel tov!”
    mechayeh (meh-CHAI-eh) – A pleasure, a delight, combining the physical and the emotional. “Cancún? Please. The beach was a hundred degrees. Like an
oven
. Any little breeze was a
mechayeh.
”
    mechuleh (meh-CHOO-leh, with the guttural
ch
)– Bankrupt, kaput — a business, a marriage, whatever. See how the letters for “kaput” are in the word “bankrupt”? Isn’t language great?
    meeskite (MEESE-kite)
–
An ugly person or thing—even a sentiment. Most often used with regard to women. But then, Judaism is the religion where the Orthodox men have a prayer thanking God they weren’t born women, so there you are.
    megillah (meh-GIL-lah)
–
The Megillah is the Book of Esther, a long, tedious account read in synagogue during the holiday of Purim. Thus, a lengthy story or recitation of events full of boring detail: “Then somebody asked him about his prostate operation, and we had to sit through the whole
megillah.
”
    mensch (mench) – Literally, “person.” Here, a mature, admirable, unselfish human being. “That editorial made me so upset. But Timmy got up from his video game and went all the way to the bathroom to bring me the Xanax, the little
mensch.
”
    meshugge (meh-SHOOH-geh, rhymes with “boogiewoogeh”)–Crazy, wacky—but used lovingly. “I can’t meet you for lunch. I’m waiting for my
meshugge
plumber to
tanz
himself over here and fix the drip in my bathroom.”
    mishegas (mish-eh-GOSS, says Rosten, but we’ve also heard MISH-eh-goss)–An absurd or ridiculous idea or belief; irrational behavior; individual, eccentric craziness, which encompasses everything from minor tics to major neuroses, but not outright psychosis. “Forget dinner at your mother’s. I can’t deal with her running around in her bra and all her other
mishegas.
”
    mishpocha (mish-PUH-chuh) – The whole family. Not necessarily the entire extended family, from all over the place plus Israel, but everyone within a reasonable distance. Can be used metaphorically: “We had a working lunch at the Italian place — everybody in Sales, the whole
mishpocha.
”
    Mu Shoo (MOO SHOO, with both syllables accentuated) – A popular Chinese dish, consisting of shredded vegetables and meat wrapped in a thin flour pancake spread with hoisin sauce, and, as such, a sort of honorary Yiddish term. (“Really?” No. Not really.)
    nisht geferlich (NISHT geh-FAIR-lich)–“I’ve seen worse.” Manages to compress good news and bad news into a single phrase—which, in Yiddish, a language of tragic-but-ironic acceptance, amounts to a cry of joy.
    nisht gut (nisht GUT) – Literally, “no good.” Used to mean no good, as in “bad.” Sorry. But sometimes a word just means what it means.
    noch (nooch or noch, rhyming with “cook” or “lock,” with the guttural
ch
sound) – In addition, even, moreover, yet — but more fun, more ironic, and much punchier. “He got out of prison—and ran for Congress! And won,
noch.
”
    nosh (nahsh)–As a verb, to eat in bites, to graze or snack. More polite nibbling than actual eating. However, as a noun—i.e., if you invite people over for a
nosh
—it means you serve just as much food, if not more, than the Fountainbleu does for its buffet brunch.
    Nu? (new) – “Well?” “So?” “What’s new?” “What’s happening?” “Any news?” Also, ironically: “What did you expect?” “And you’re surprised?” It’s not really spelled with a question mark, but if you leave it out people will think you mean the thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. And no one wants that.
    nudjedik (NOODGE-eh-dik)–Anxious, antsy. Your daughter takes the train back to
Hotzeplotz
. It’s supposed to arrive at 11:30. You check. It does. It’s now almost 1 a.m. and you still haven’t heard that she made it home. You start to get
nudjedik
.
    oy gevalt (OY geh-VULT,