| Gonif: | Unscrupulous, a thief. His partner's sent out an APB. |
| Grubber yung: | Crude. A big mouth who has dirt (from grabbing) under his fingernails. |
| Klutz: | Clumsy. She falls over her own sneakers– fastened with Velco. |
| Kvetch: | A whiner. The food's salty, the place is chilly, eating out –who needs it? |
| Luftmensch: | A dreamer – who never wakes up. He could paint a masterpiece, if only he had an easel – and knew how. |
| Meshugener: | A loony. Whether he thinks his underwear is after him or barrels over Niagra Falls, he's one letter short of an M&M. |
| Moishe Kapoyr: | Today he'd be called "oppositional." The family votes to hold the reunion in Vegas. He votes for Vilna. |
| Nar: | He left his law practice to become a clown. |
| Nayfish: | A doormat. When he's robbed, he apologizes for being short on cash. |
| Nebekh: | A hapless unfortunate. He gets stepped on by accident a lot. |
| Nuchshlepper: | A hanger-on. She shleps the 200 pound camping gear for the group. |
| Nudnik: | A persistent bore. She doesn't stop with the talking, the asking, the annoying till you want to staple his lips together. |
| Nudzh: | A pesty badgerer. She tells you twelve times to check the locks. Unlike the nudnik, it could be an occasional occurrence. |
| Ongeblussen: | A self-involved blowhard. If his last name is Moses, he thinks the Bible gave him a mention. |
| Oysvorf: | Unpopular outcast. Think David Duke at a Hadassah meeting. |
| Paskudnyak: | A revolting, corrupt person. For him, there would be a very short funeral. |
| Shikker: | A drunk. She has a little chaser with her Cheerios. |
| Shlemiel: | A pathetic, clumsy loser. He drives over – through your living room. |
| Shlimazel: | An unlucky loser. He's the one the shlemiel was visiting. |
| Shlump: | Unkempt, saggy. She shleps, stooped, with her hair in strings. |
| Shmeggege: | And idiotic doofus. Short of a "meshuganah," he's sure he'll make a killing with his musical toilet seat ... and acts like a makher about it. |
| Shmendrik: | Nincompoop. A fraternal twin to a shlemiel, he's thinner and weaker. |
| Shnook: | A likeable patsy. You could sell him a time-share in Area 51, and he'll pay top dollar – for vacationing on an historical site. |
| Shnorror: | A beggar. He's forever borrowing, taking advantage. Bad for a potluck party. |
| Trombenik: | A lazy braggart. Not only does he blow his own horn, he doesn't own one. |
| Yuchna: | A loud-mouthed, boorish female. In Loehmann's dressing room she'll yell "It would fit if you lost a few pounds!" |
| Yutz: | Socially inept. He takes you to a restaurant with a clown face and spends the evening discussing his train collection. |
| Zshlub: | Lazy slob. He shows up with schmutz on his untucked shirt. To Archie Bunker, "meathead" looked like a zshlub when he met him – although he'd never say it. |
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(11) Mousie Zavala , November 3, 2009
great to read, even if you DO know every word!
I grew up speaking yiddish/valspeak (yes, from the valley of Los Angeles) all the while thinking that it was normal...only to learn (to my horror) that NO ONE(where I lived) IN OREGON KNEW WHAT A SCHMUCK WAS there! My humor was called 'dark', but I thought 'When your in love the whole world is Jewish' was what EVERYONE listened to when they were kids! I enjoy living, I guess, with the best of two worlds. thanks for reminding me of my favorite words!
(10) Anonymous , July 24, 2008
RE: Marlenes comment
Eingeshparht, is a closed person. A person is perhaps is an introvert. He does not reveal his feeling, to a fault.
(9) sonia nusenbaum , June 18, 2008
Did the advent of psychotherapy put a stop for the need served by Yiddish humor?
The connexion of Yiddish humor to dealing/not dealing with other people's "tszoris" and our own is undeniable
The question might be asked whether much of the outstanding Jewish contribution and creativity to the world of entertainment as in comedy, theatre and the world of film making with its focus on characters that certainly defined much of the Hollywood of old isn't at least in part derived from the Jewish need to understand and resolve people problems?
Then there are always the advice columnists.
A search for insight!
(8) Marlene , June 9, 2008
Yiddish-Yinglish corrections
Growing up speaking Yiddish as my first language, there are two points to consider: Ongeblussen actually refers to somone who has become angry or pouty when offended. The other word, Eingeshparht, actually refers to a very stuborn or inflexible person.
(7) Bernard Yablin , June 9, 2008
"Comparison"
Reading this was more fun than some of the $30-$35 books on the market.