ABSP - Yiddish

Yiddish

Words

baalebos	the master of the house > BAALEBATIM.
bagel beigel	a hard, leavened, ring-shaped roll. [Yiddish beygel].
bubkes bubkis bupkes bupkis bupkus	a very small amount.
biali bialy	an onion roll > BIALIS; BIALYS or BIALIES.
blintz blintze	a thin filled pancake.
boychick boychik	boy, term of endearment.
bupkes bupkus	see bubkes.
chatchka chatchke	a knickknack.
cholent	a Jewish stew of boiling fowl, rice and vegetables.
chutzpa chutzpah hutzpa hutzpah	sass, moxy; nerve, gall.
daven doven	to utter Jewish prayers.
dibbuk dybbuk	a dead person's soul inhabiting a living person.
dreck drek	inferior merchandise, rubbish.
dreidel dreidl	a 4-sided toy marked with Hebrew letters and spun like a top; a children's game of chance played with this especially at Hanukkah.
farfal farfel	grains of dough used as a soup garnish.
fleishig fleishik	made of meat or meat products.
futz	to spend time aimlessly. [Origin uncertain: perh. alt. of Yiddish arumfartzen fart about.]
ganef ganev ganof gonef gonif goniff gonoph	a thief.
gazump	(coll.) to unfairly acquire a property by bidding more than an offer that has already been accepted.
gefilte gefullte	as in gefilte fish, a dish of fish stuffed with various ingredients.
gelt	money, profit
glitch	an instance of imperfect functioning e.g. in a spacecraft or computer. [Origin unkn.: cf. hitch and Yiddish glitsh slippery place, glitshik elusive.]
golem	an artificial human endowed with life by supernatural means. [Yiddish goylem f. Heb. golem shapeless mass].
goy	a gentile.
gunsel	(US slang) a stupid youth; a gunman. [Yiddish genzel, dim. of goose].
halavah halva halvah	a sweet dish of ground sesame seed, fruit and vegetables.
hamantasch	a three-cornered pastry traditionally eaten during the Jewish festival Purim > HAMENTASCHEN.
kibitz kibbitz	to look on and offer unsolicited, meddlesome advice. [Possibly from German Kibitz, lapwing, a type of bird noted for its shrill and raucous cry].
kibitzer kibbitzer	one who looks on and offers unsolicited, meddlesome advice.
kishka kishke	seasoned mashed potatoes in a casing.
kittel	a white robe used in Jewish ceremonies.
klezmer	a style of music: part Jewish, part big-band > KLEZMORIM.
klutz	a clumsy person, an idiot.
knaidel kneidel	in Jewish cooking, a dumpling > KNAIDLOCH or KNEIDLACH.
knish	in Jewish cooking, dough with potato, meat etc. baked or fried.
kreplach kreplech	small dough dumplings usu. served in soup.
kugel	a casserole, usu. of potatoes or noodles; (verb, slang) to tease.
kvell	to be happy > KVELLS, KVELLING, KVELLED.
kvetch	to complain habitually, to gripe.
kvetcher	a whiner, complainer.
kvetchy	whiny.
landsman	a fellow Jew from the same town in Eastern Europe.
latke	a traditional Jewish pancake.
lokshen	noodles.
lox	a kind of smoked salmon.
luftmensch	an impractical dreamer having no definite business or income > LUFTMENSCHEN.
macher	an important person.
mamzer, momser, momzer	an illegitimate child > MAMZERS or MAMZERIM; MOMSERS; MOMZERS or MOMZERIM.
matzo	unleavened bread > MATZOH, MATZOT, MATZOTH. Also MATZA, MATSAH, MATZAH, with normal plurals MATZAS, MATSAHS, MATZAHS.
maven mavin mayvin	(US slang) an expert, a pundit.
mazeltov	congratulations.
mazuma	money, cash.
mensch	a person of integrity and honor > MENSCHES or MENSCHEN.
meshuga meshugah meshugga meshuggah meshugge	mad, crazy.
meshugaas mishegaas mishegoss	madness, foolishness.
meshuggenah meshuggeneh meshuggener	a fool, a crazy person.
milchig milchik	dairy. Cf. FLEISHIG, PAREVE.
moiser	an informer.
musar	Rabbinic literature concerned with ethics.
nachas	pride in another's accomplishments > NACHAS.
nebbich nebbishe nebbish nebbisher nebish	a colourless, insignificant person.
nosh	food; (verb) to eat.
nudnick nudnik	a dense, boring, or bothersome person. [From Yiddish nudyen, to bore].
noodge nudzh	to nag.
oofy	wealthy > OOFIER, OOFIEST.
ooftish	money.
pareve parve parev	made without milk, meat or their derivatives.
pastrami pastromi	highly seasoned smoked beef.
pisher	a small boy.
plotz	to explode, esp. with intense emotion.
putz	to waste time.
rebbe	a rabbi or spiritual leader of a Hasidic Jewish group.
rebbetzin	the wife of a rabbi.
rugelach ruggelach rugalach	in Jewish cooking, small crescent-shaped pastries filled with fruit, nuts etc. N.B. these are plurals.
schav	a cold soup of leafy vegetables.
schemozzle shemozzle shimozzle shlemozzle	a mess, a scrape; (verb) to make off.
schlemiel schlemihl shlemiel shlemiehl	an unlucky or incompetent person who is often duped.
schlep schlepp shlep shlepp	to carry; drag, lug; drag one's feet; travel a great distance; (noun) lazy one; unkempt person.
schlepper shlepper	an incompetent or nonentity.
schleppy	incompetent.
schlock schlocker	(something) of inferior quality. [Yiddish shlak, evil].
schlocky	trashy, of inferior quality.
schlub shlub	a stupid unattractive person.
schlump shlump	to flop; (noun) a stoop-shouldered person.
schmaltz shmaltz	fat, grease, oil; maudlin sentimentality.
schmaltzy schmalzy	sickly sentimental.
schmear shmear	an aggregate of related things.
schmeck shmek	a taste or sniff; heroin.
schmeer	to bribe.
schmo shmoe shmo	a stupid person.
schmock shmock schmuck shmuck	a pitiful, stupid or obnoxious person.
schmoos schmoose schmooz schmooze shmoose shmooze	to chat in a friendly way.
schmoozer	one who schmoozes.
schmoozy	gossipy.
schmutter schmatte shmatte	clothing, rags.
schnook shnook	a pathetic, timid person.
schnorr	to beg, esp. in such a way as to make the giver feel beholden.
schnorrer shnorrer	a beggar; esp one who wheedles others into supplying his wants.
schnoz schnozz schnozzle	the nose.
schtick schtik shtik shtick	a familiar line of chat adapted by a particular comedian.
schtook shtook shtuck schtuck	trouble, bother.
schtoom schtum shtoom shtum shtumm stumm	silent, dumb, quiet.
schul shul	a synagogoue > SCHULN (not SCHULS*); SHULN or SHULS<.
schvartze schwartze shvartze	a black person.
shammash shammas shammes shamos	(Yiddish) the sexton in a synagogue; the candle used to light the other 8 candles of a Chanukah menorah > SHAMMOSIM or SHAMMASHIM.
shegetz	among Jewish people, a Gentile boy; a Jewish boy not observing traditional Jewish behaviour > SHKOTZIM.
shicker shikker	(Aust. sl.) strong liquor; a drunk.
shicksa shiksa shikse shikseh	a non-Jewish girl or young woman.
shidduch	an arranged marriage > SHIDDUCHIM.
schlimazel shlimazel	an unlucky person; one with perpetual bad luck.
shlumpy	slovenly.
shtetel shtetl	formerly, a Jewish community in an Eastern European town or village > SHTETELACH or SHTETELS; SHTETLACH or SHTETLS
shticky	like a SHTICK > SHTICKIER, SHTICKIEST.
shtup	to have sexual intercourse with.
smouse	a Jew; (verb) in S. Africa, to trade as a pedlar.
taiglach teiglach	small, fruit- or nut-filled pastries, dipped in honey.
tchotchke tsatske	a knickknack, a cheap trinket.
tref trefa trefah treif treifa	forbidden as food, not kosher.
tsimmes tzimmes	a sweetened stew of vegetables, fruit and meat > TSIMMES, TZIMMES.
tsooris tsouris tsores tsoris tsuris tzuris tsorriss	grief, woe.
tummler	one, such as a social director or entertainer, who encourages guest or audience participation; one who incites others to action.
tush tushie tushy	the bottom, the buttocks. [Yiddish tokhes].
vig vigorish	the percentage of a gambler's winnings taken by bookkeeper. [Prob. f. Yiddish f. Russ. vyigrysh gain, winnings.]
vilde	a wild animal; an uncontrolled person.
yahrzeit	an anniversary of the death of a family member observed by Jews.
yamalka yarmulka yamulka yarmelke yarmulke	a religious skullcap.
yenta yente	a gossipy woman, esp. one who pries.
yutz	a socially inept person.
zaftig zoftig	pleasingly plump.

Data Protection Act: In joining the ABSP I accept that personal information relating to Scrabble, including my rating and my photograph, may appear on the ABSP website and in ABSP publications. I accept that the ABSP will not be responsible for use or misuse of personal information.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A. by Hasbro Inc., in Canada by Hasbro Canada Inc. and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Ltd. of Maidenhead SL6 4UB, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro or Hasbro Canada.