Yiddish -
On the situation comedy THE NANNY/CBS/1993-99 Fran Drescher starred as Fran
Fine, a Jewish American Princess who lost her job at a Flushing Bridal shop and
found employment as a nanny for a wealthy Manhattan widower.
As she cared for his children, or spoke with her mother, Sylvia Fine (Renee
Taylor) Fran sprinkled her conversations with a number of Yiddish terms.
The following is list of some of those words with definitions:
bar-mitzvah - ceremony marking the 13th year of a Jewish
male-passage into manhood
bashert - fated or destined
bubbie - grandmother
bubkes - nothing
farkakta - terrible or ridiculous
kvetch - to complain
meshugeneh - a nutty person
meschpuche - member of an extended family
mozeltov - good luck or congratulations
Oy! - a negative exclamation like "Oy, my back is killing me!"
punim - face
shlep - to carry or pull something
shnoz - short for schnozzolla meaning "nose"
shmootz - dirt or grime
shvits - to sweat
shikse - non-Jewish woman
tuchas - rear-end, butt, ass, derriere
yenta - a mouthy or gossipy woman
The Yiddish language is a combination (blending) of both the German and
Hebrew languages that originated in Eastern Europe. See alsoMUSIC & MUSICIANS: "Bupkiss"
