"boy's penis is a ""shtekl"", a 'little stick'. ""Shtekl"" became shmeckle, in a kind of baby-rhyming thing, and ""shmeckle"" became ""shmuck"". ""Shmeckle"" is prepubescent and not a dirty word, but ""shmuck"", the non-diminutive, became obscene."" On the other hand, the Online Etymology Dictionary and the ""American Heritage Dictionary"" indicate that the Yiddish word ""shmok"" derives from Old Polish """" 'grass snake, dragon'. In the German language the word """" means 'jewelry, adornment'. It is a nominalization of the German verb ""schmücken"" 'to decorate' and is unrelated to the word discussed in this article. The same is true for the Danish"
"club several nights running to determine if [his] use of Yiddish terms was a cover for profanity"". Although schmuck is considered an obscene term in Yiddish, it has become a common American idiom for ""jerk"" or ""idiot"". It can be taken as offensive, however, by some Jews, particularly those with strong Yiddish roots. Allan Sherman explained in his book ""The Rape of the A*P*E*"" that, if a word is used frequently enough, it loses its shock value and comes into common usage without raising any eyebrows. The term was notably used in the 2010 comedy film ""Dinner for Schmucks"", in"
"word ""smuk"", which simply means beautiful. Because of its generally being considered a vulgarity, the word is often euphemized as ""schmoe"", which was the source of Al Capp's cartoon strip creature the shmoo. Other variants include ""schmo"" and ""shmo"". Leo Rosten writes in ""The Joys of Yiddish"" that schmuck is commonly viewed among Jews as an obscene word that shouldn't be said lightly. Lenny Bruce, a Jewish stand-up comedian, wrote that the use of the word during his performances in 1962 led to his arrest on the West Coast, ""by a Yiddish undercover agent who had been placed in the"
"suggested that the main characters in the film might be more appropriately called ""shmendriks"". In bodybuilding culture, the term ""schmoe"", or ""smos"", is used to describe a person, often a wealthy man who is less muscular and weaker than bodybuilders, who pays bodybuilders money for private posing sessions, wrestling, and prostitution. Schmuck (pejorative) Schmuck, or shmuck, in American English is a pejorative term meaning one who is stupid or foolish, or an obnoxious, contemptible or detestable person. The word came into the English language from Yiddish (, ""shmok""), where it has similar pejorative meanings, but where its literal meaning is"
"Schlemiel Schlemiel (; sometimes spelled shlemiel or shlumiel) is a Yiddish term meaning ""incompetent person"" or ""fool."" It is a common archetype in Jewish humor, and so-called """"schlemiel"" jokes"" depict the ""schlemiel"" falling into unfortunate situations. The inept ""schlemiel"" is often presented alongside the unlucky ""schlimazel"". A Yiddish saying explains that ""a ""schlemiel"" is somebody who often spills his soup and a ""schlimazel"" is the person it lands on."" The ""schlemiel"" is similar to the ""schmuck"" but, as stated in a 2010 essay in ""The Forward"", a ""schmuck"" can improve himself while a ""schlemiel"" is ""irredeemably what they are."" While"
"Yimakh shemo The Hebrew phrase yimakh shemo ""May his name be obliterated"" is a curse placed after the name of particular enemies of the Jewish people. A variant is ""yimakh shemo ve zikhro"" ""Obliterate his name and his memory."" ""Yimakh shemo"" is one of the strongest curses in the Hebrew language. The term although Hebrew, may be inserted as a set phrase in languages other than Hebrew, including Yiddish, for example, """"Dos iz a kol-boynik, yemakh-shmoy!"""" (""He is a scoundrel, ""yemakh-shmoy""!"") and English. When the phrase is used in English of plurals the Hebrew plural ""-am"" (""their names and their"
"means one who is less religious and free from the observance of Halakha that exceeds the baseline requirement, or one who is not religiously observant and feels ""frei"" to do whatever one feels like doing. Someone who is extremely frum is labeled a ""frummer"". To be a ""frummer"" (""more pious person"", related to German ""frömmer"") means to observe ""khumrot"". While the word ""frummer"" is frequently used as an adjective as well, the technically-correct Yiddish comparative of the adjective """"frum"""" is, in fact, """"frimer"". ""Frummer"" can also have a negative connotation, similar to ""Chasid Shoteh"" (""pious idiot""), which is how the"
"chutzpah is ""chuzpe"". Chutzpah Chutzpah () is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad. It derives from the Hebrew word """" (), meaning ""insolence"", ""cheek"" or ""audacity"". Thus the original Yiddish word has a strongly negative connotation but the form which entered English through Ameridish has taken on a broader meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use in film, literature, and television. The word is sometimes interpreted—particularly in business parlance—as meaning the amount of courage, mettle or ardor that an individual has. In Hebrew, ""chutzpah"" is used indignantly, to describe someone who has overstepped the boundaries of accepted"
"Abomination of desolation The abomination of desolation, abomination that makes desolate, or desolating sacrilege (Hebrew: , ""ha-shikkuts meshomem"") is a term found in the Book of Daniel which means literally ""an abomination that desolates"" or ""an abomination that appalls"". The word ""abomination"" is described as a ""detestable act"" or ""detestable thing"" and in both biblical and rabbinic Hebrew, is a familiar term for an idol, or pertains to idolatrous worship, and therefore may well have the same application in Daniel, which should accordingly be rendered, in agreement with ""motionless abomination"" or, also, ""appalling abomination"". Some scholars—Hoffmann, Nestle, Bevan, and others—suggest"
"to inhabit wild or desolate places. Commonly the unclean spirit refers to Dybbuks, spirits of deceased persons who were not laid to rest and thus became demons. Other demonic entities are ""shedim"", which appears only twice in the Tanakh; originally a loan-word from Akkadian for a protective, benevolent spirit (""sedu""), but from Jewish perspective were foreign gods and according to established Jewish lore own beings, created by Jahwe. The ""se’irim"" or ""śa‘ir"" are goat-demons or ""hairy demons"" (sometimes translated as ""satyrs"") associated with other harmful supernatural beings and with ruins, i.e., human structures that threaten to revert to the wild."
"to shame. The same word is often used throughout the Jerusalem Talmud, as well as in Midrashic literature, to signify what is given out to the poor and needy. Today, in Modern Hebrew, the word is seldom used to imply charity, replaced now by the word, ""ts’dakah"" (Heb. צְדָקָה). In contrast, the word צדקה amongst Jews in Sana’a was a tax levied upon Jewish householders, particularly those whose professions were butchers, and which tax consisted of hides and suet from butchered animals, and which things were sold on a daily basis by the Treasurer, and the money accruing from the"
"Shyster Shyster is a slang word for someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law, sometimes also politics or business. The etymology of the word is not generally agreed upon. The ""Oxford English Dictionary"" describes it as ""of obscure origin"", possibly deriving from a historical sense of ""shy"" meaning disreputable, whereas the ""Merriam-Webster Dictionary"" deemed it probably based on the German ""Scheisser"" [Scheißer] (literally ""defecator""). Various false etymologies have suggested an anti-Semitic origin, possibly associated with the character of Shylock from Shakespeare's ""The Merchant of Venice"", but there is no clear evidence"
"""(mere) mortal"", or ""humble sinner"" with a particularly (self-)ironic connotation, such as in the common saying ""Jeder Jeck is anders"" (lit. ""Every fool is different"", with an idiomatic meaning of ""Different strokes for different folks"" or ""Live and let live""). From there, a transformation into an ethnonym such as for Jewish people would be akin to the fate of similar terms such as Germanic ""man (word)"" and ""*þiuda-"", and the equivalent words for ""person"" or ""human being"" in many other languages around the world. The term is often used in a slightly derogatory or cynical manner, although it is also"
"derived noun, formed with the Slavonic ""-nik"" nominalizing suffix, is ""yemakh-shmoynik"" ""scoundrel"" (feminine, ""yemakh-shmoynitse"") but this is not used with the strength of the original epithet ""yemakh-shmoy"". The term ""yimakh shemo"" is often used in combination with the term ""meshummad"" from the root ""shamad,"" which signifies to destroy. The obliteration of Amalek's memory has been compared to the Latin ""damnatio memoriae"" by several European academics. Yimakh shemo The Hebrew phrase yimakh shemo ""May his name be obliterated"" is a curse placed after the name of particular enemies of the Jewish people. A variant is ""yimakh shemo ve zikhro"" ""Obliterate his"
"Chutzpah Chutzpah () is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad. It derives from the Hebrew word """" (), meaning ""insolence"", ""cheek"" or ""audacity"". Thus the original Yiddish word has a strongly negative connotation but the form which entered English through Ameridish has taken on a broader meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use in film, literature, and television. The word is sometimes interpreted—particularly in business parlance—as meaning the amount of courage, mettle or ardor that an individual has. In Hebrew, ""chutzpah"" is used indignantly, to describe someone who has overstepped the boundaries of accepted behavior. In traditional"
"as a metaphor for a brainless lunk or entity who serves a man under controlled conditions but is hostile to him under others. ""Golem"" passed into Yiddish as ""goylem"" to mean someone who is stupid or lethargic. The oldest stories of golems date to early Judaism. In the Talmud (Tractate Sanhedrin 38b), Adam was initially created as a golem (גולם) when his dust was ""kneaded into a shapeless husk."" Like Adam, all golems are created from mud by those close to divinity, but no anthropogenic golem is fully human. Early on, the main disability of the golem was its inability"
"Shegetz Shegetz (שייגעץ or in Hebrew שֵׁיְגֶּץ; alternative Romanizations incl. shaygetz, sheigetz, shaigetz, sheygets; plural שקצים shkotzim, shgatzim) is a Yiddish word that has entered English to refer to a non-Jewish boy or young man. It is used disparagingly. The word shegetz, like its feminine counterpart shiksa, according to the ""Oxford English Dictionary"", is derived from ""sheqeṣ"" (""a detested thing""). In former times, it was common practice for Ashkenazi Jews, that is, Jews in Eastern Europe who were harassed by youths to label their tormentors ""shkotzim"". Nacham Grossbard of Haifa, writing in the ""Memorial Book for the Community of Ciechanów"""
"Hanukkah-themed book and doll set. A life-size version of the doll has been adopted by as their mascot. According to pitcher Gabe Cramer, ""The Mensch is a great way to have fun in the dugout while reminding us of why we're here and who we're representing."" Mensch According to Leo Rosten, the Yiddish maven and author of ""The Joys of Yiddish"", a """" is ""someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being 'a real mensch' is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous."" The term is used as"
"Shtick A shtick (, the closely related German word ""Stück"" sounds similar, yet it is not used in the same way as the English ""thing"") is a comic theme or gimmick derived from the Yiddish word ""shtik"" (שטיק), meaning ""piece"" (in stand-up comedy a near equivalent term is a ""bit""). The English word for ""piece"" or ""thing"" is sometimes used in a similar context. Another variant is ""bits of business"" or just ""bits"". ""Shtick"" may refer to an adopted persona, usually for comedy performances, that is maintained consistently (though not necessarily exclusively) across the performer's career. In this usage, the"
"Shiksa Shiksa () is an often disparaging term for a non-Jewish woman or girl. The word, which is of Yiddish origin, has moved into English usage (as well as Polish and German), mostly in North American Jewish culture, as According to the ""Oxford English Dictionary"", it came into English usage in the late 19th century from the Yiddish ""shikse"", which is an adaptation of the Hebrew word ""šiqṣâ"", which is derived from ""sheqeṣ"" (""a detested thing"") and the feminine suffix ""-â"". Among Orthodox Jews, the term may be used to describe a Jewish girl or woman who fails to follow"
"as the ""shema"") are intended to remind people of love for God and his precepts and do not in themselves guarantee good fortune (they are not to become idols). Although Jews are forbidden in general to mock at anything holy, it is meritorious to deride idols, This apparently originated in ancient times, as some of the several Hebrew words from the Tanakh translated as ""idol"" are pejorative and even deliberately contemptuous, such as ""elilim"", ""powerless ones"", and ""gillulim"", ""pellets of dung"". Attitudes towards the interpretation of the Commandment changed through the centuries, in that while first century rabbis in Judea"
"Abomination (Bible) Abomination (from Latin ""abominare"", ""to deprecate as an ill omen"") is an English term used to translate the Biblical Hebrew terms shiqquts שיקוץ and sheqets שקץ, which are derived from shâqats, or the terms תֹּועֵבָה, tōʻēḇā or to'e'va (noun) or ta'ev (verb). An abomination in English is that which is exceptionally loathsome, hateful, sinful, wicked, or vile. The Biblical words usually translated as ""abomination"" do not always convey the same sense of moral exceptionalism as the English term does today, as it often may signify that which is forbidden or unclean according to the religion (especially ""sheqets""). Linguistically"
"when at the end times, when Jerusalem is subject to much destruction before the Second Coming of Christ. Abomination of desolation The abomination of desolation, abomination that makes desolate, or desolating sacrilege (Hebrew: , ""ha-shikkuts meshomem"") is a term found in the Book of Daniel which means literally ""an abomination that desolates"" or ""an abomination that appalls"". The word ""abomination"" is described as a ""detestable act"" or ""detestable thing"" and in both biblical and rabbinic Hebrew, is a familiar term for an idol, or pertains to idolatrous worship, and therefore may well have the same application in Daniel, which should"
"Mensch According to Leo Rosten, the Yiddish maven and author of ""The Joys of Yiddish"", a """" is ""someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being 'a real mensch' is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous."" The term is used as a high compliment, implying the rarity and value of that individual's qualities. In Yiddish, ""mentsh"" roughly means ""a good person"".. The word has migrated as a loanword into American English, where a ""mensch"" is a particularly good person, similar to a ""stand-up guy"", a person with"
"derive the word from Hittite ""tarpiš"", ""the evil daemon"". Teraphim Teraphim ( ""teraph""; plural: ""teraphim"") is a Hebrew word from the Bible, found only in the plural, of uncertain etymology. Despite being plural, ""Teraphim"" may refer to singular objects, using the Hebrew plural of excellence. The word ""Teraphim"" is explained in classical rabbinical literature as meaning ""disgraceful things"" (dismissed by modern etymologists), and in many English translations of the Bible it is translated as ""idols"", or ""household god(s)"", though its exact meaning is more specific than this, but unknown precisely. According to Genesis 31, Rachel takes the teraphim belonging to"
"source for historians, philologists, sociologists, literary critics, and linguists. Glückel was a popular name in the Middle Ages. The name “Glückel” is diminutive of ""Glück,"" the German translation of the Hebrew name “Mazal,” meaning “good fortune.” Mazal was exclusively used by Sephardic Jews, while Ashkenazi Jews used either the German variations of ""Glück"" and ""Glueck"" or the Yiddish version ""Glick."" The ending ""el"" is a diminutive which indicates ""little"" or ""little one"" and was used in the Yiddish and German variations of Glückel, Glukel, Glukil, Glickel, and Glikel. The pseudo-aristocratic variation ""Glückel von Hameln"" was used by the editor of"
"poor, flimsy. In Belarusian language, ""ліхі"" means bad, evil (like in prayer), odd (side of clothing). In Ukrainian language it is type of bad luck or incident. Likho Likho, liho (Russian: Лихо, , ) is an embodiment of evil fate and misfortune in Slavic mythology, a creature with one eye, often depicted as an old, skinny woman in black (Лихо одноглазое, One-eyed Likho) or as an evil male goblin of forests. Rather than being included in the major canon of the Slavic belief system, the Likho is traditionally found in fairy tales. There are several basic versions of tales how"
"Schnorrer Schnorrer (שנאָרער; also spelled shnorrer) is a Yiddish term meaning ""beggar"" or ""sponger"". The word ""Schnorrer"" also occurs in German to describe a freeloader who frequently asks for little things, like cigarettes or little sums of money, without offering a return. The English usage of the word denotes a sly chiseler who will get money out of his acquaintances any way he can, often through an air of entitlement. A ""schnorrer"" is distinguished from an ordinary beggar by dint of his boundless chutzpah. Like ""moocher"", ""schnorrer"" does not apply to direct begging or destitution, but rather a habit of"
"Vedmak In Slavic mythology, a Vědmák (; ; ; , ""Vidmak"", , ) is a warlock or male witch, the female equivalent (witch) being ""vědma"", but unlike the latter, the vedmak may also possess positive qualities. For example, they treat people and animals. On the other hand, they are thought to be people connected to the devil, and are capable of bringing harm by sending illnesses, killing cattle, spoiling a harvest, etc. The word was also used as an insult. A vedmak can turn into any animal or any object. The term ""Vedmak"" comes from Proto-Slavic *vědět (""to know"") and"
"which the plot centered on a competition among businessmen to see who could invite the biggest idiot to a monthly dinner. In her review of the film for the ""New York Times"", film critic Debbie Schlussel took issue with the movie's use of the term ""schmuck"", and with its use of Yiddish at all, adding: “The more correct title would have been ‘Dinner for Schlemiels'.” She added, ""At ""The New York Times"", where the word is still considered potentially offensive, the title of [the] film may be mentioned only sparingly. Still, advertisements for the movie would probably pass muster"", and"
"Zhyd Zhyd (zhid) and zhydovka (zhidovka) (, , , ) are terms for Jewish man and woman respectively in several Slavic languages. In modern Russian language, it is an anti-Semitic pejorative, similar to the word ""yid"". In modern Ukrainian language they have become pejorative under the influence of Russian and were banned by the Soviet authorities in the 1930s. In most other Slavic languages, such as Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene and Croatian, as well as Hungarian which is heavily influenced by Slavic languages, these terms are not pejorative as they simply translate as ""Jew"" (ex. Polish word for a Jew"
"(""shoemaker""); Schuster (""cobbler""); Schneider, Schneiders, and Snyders (""tailor""; in Hebrew חייט, Chait/Khait (and at times Hyatt)); Wechsler (""money-changer""). Related, and likewise generically German, names are derived metonymically for a common object or tool of a profession: e.g., Hammer for a blacksmith, Feder (""quill"") for a scribe, and Lein (""linen"") for a dealer in cloth. But there are others that are more distinctively Jewish: ""Parnass"", ""Gabbay"", Singer, Cantor, Voorsanger, Chazan, Cantarini, from the synagogue officials who were so called; Shochet, Schaechter, Schechter, from the ritual slaughterer (also Schub or Shub: Hebrew acronym for 'shochet u-bodek'/ritual slaughterer and kosher meat inspector); Shadkun,"
"""The Hitter"" or ""Striker"" elsewhere in the handbook may be Šulak identified by an epithet. A much earlier reference to this demon is found in a Hittite diagnostic text. The ""demon of the privy"" ""(Sheid beit ha-Kisset)"" appears also in the Babylonian Talmud: Stroke and epilepsy were closely related in ancient medicine. This law is not included in the Mishneh Torah. The lavatory demon takes the form of a goat in the Talmud (""Shabbat"" 67a, ""Berachot"" 62a). The ""demon of the privy"" is the type of unclean spirit that in the early Christian era was regarded as causing both physical"