Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 2 no. 62 September 11, 1992 1) Theories (David Sherman) 2) Mordkhe Schaechter's dictionaries (David Sherman) 3) Shmuck and putz (Noyekh Miller) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 3:24:20 EDT From: dave@cai.lsuc.on.CA Subject: Theories > Subject: Farvos Mendele hot zikh asoy zeltn bavizn > An additional theory holds that all Mendelniks are > in analysis and follow their shrinks to Wellfleet or > Truro for the month of August. This has not yet been > confirmed. Another theory holds that Mendeleniks go to Yidish-vokh in August, thus spending their time oif shvimn, netsbol, shpatsirn in vald un kolerlay yidishredndike zakhn, rather than at their computers. However, this theory was been disproven by the low Mendelenik turnout at yidish-vokh. Plan to be free for the week leading up to Labour Day next year! David Sherman 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 3:20:33 EDT From: dave@cai.lsuc.on.CA Subject: Mordkhe Schaechter's dictionaries > From: Seymour Axelrod > Mordkhe Schaechter (Food: A Yiddish Terminology [Yiddish > title: Mit a gutn apetit!], mimeo 1976) translates "sesame > seeds" as *der seza'm (-zoymen)*. And... > From: jfinger@mv.us.adobe.COM > I am trying to buy one or more copies, new or used, of the > following book: > "Yiddish II : a textbook for intermediate courses" > Shekhter, Mordekhai (Mordkhe Schaechter) > The book is out of print, and though it is promised that > the book will be back in print late this year, I do not > want to wait that long. I saw Mordkhe at the Yugntruf yidish-vokh this past week, and asked him about the new food dictionary, which he's been working on for some time. He says it'll be out in April or May. In the meantime he's getting the revised edition of Yiddish II published. You might check with him at the yidish-lige (212-787-6675, in NYC) to see if they can rustle you up a copy or more while you are waiting for the second edition. Yidish-vokh was great, by the way. 65 people this time around. There's been a big change since we started going three years ago: everyone's kids are growing up! This year there were lots and lots of kids running around, all speaking Yiddish with each other. A shame more MENDELEniks couldn't make it (Dovid Braun and Meylekh Viswanath were there). Simone and I ran a Yiddish version of the game show "TalkAbout", which went over very well. David Sherman 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 From: nmiller@vax1.trincoll.edu Subject: re: schmuck and putz The "On Language" column by Philologus in the Forward (by itself worth the price of admission) has discussed these words in earlier columns. Now, on Aug. 28, an interesting item: someone overhearing Brooklyn yeshiva students referring to someone as an "80-90". In response to his inquiry about this arcane expression, he was informed that 80 and 90 are the numerical values of the Hebrew letters Peh and Tsadi, which spell _potz_. This is in effect.. a cryptogram of a cryptogram. Since in Yiddish a _peh-tsadi_ is a slang word for "a putz" in its own right, we are indeed an ingenious, let alone mathematically-inclined people. Peh-tsadi. In my (orthodox yet) family it was pronounced peh-tsadik and in case you didn't get the drift there were peh-tsadikim: over-aggressive pishke collectors, self- important shul turkeys and other such Tartuffes. Thus "80-90" is not only ingenious but an interesting counter-spin by some of the very people who just might have been targets of the original taunt. One could even argue that "80-90" constitutes avoidance-behavior on the part of those who well understood the unflattering reference to peyes and other marks of conspicuous yet somehow suspect religiosity. Sociolinguistic note: peh-tsadik was used--at last in the U.S.--at a time when orthodoxy was nominal to begin with and on the wane. A young man openly wearing tsitses in say 1930 or 1940 would have been bizarre. Now that the world has changed, I wonder if anyone--even one strongly opposed to the present climate of competitive frumkayt--would say it. I think not. Noyekh Miller _____________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol 2.62 If your message is intended for MENDELE, please write to: mendele@vax1.trincoll.edu If you want to discuss personal business or have a shmues with the shames, please write to: nmiller@vax1.trincoll.edu Please sign your articles.