Hooray for Yiddish!

by Leo Rosten

The English dictionary contains many Yiddish words that have won acceptance in our everyday language. We shlep our bags to the car, admire the chutzpa of an ambitious businesswoman, and laugh at the shtick of our favorite comedian. In this book, author Leo Rosten explores the aspects of Yiddish that make it a uniquely expressive, funny, and catchy language. In addition to vocabulary, other elements of Yiddish have affected English, such as word order: smart, he isn't; beautiful, she's not; lucky, they are. A delight for everyone who loves words, this guide is a celebration of a language that continues to bring richness and vitality to everyday speech.

Genres: Language, Humor, Nonfiction, Judaica, Judaism

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Leo Calvin Rosten was born in Lodz, Russian Empire (now Poland) and died in New York City. He was a teacher and academic, but is best known as a humorist in the fields of scriptwriting, storywriting, journalism and Yiddish lexicography.

Reviews

[Lisa]

This is at least equal parts joke book and etymology - which sounds like a delightful combination, and it is, but I ended up having to take it in such small doses that I'm returning it to the library unfinished despite having renewed it 5 times...

[Douglas Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read, especially if you love languages.

[Blackwidower · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're Jewish and Ashkenazi who uses Yiddish expressions, this is the book for you. Even more so if you have parents who speak Yiddish. What I loved about this book was that it explained a lot of what Jewish culture is and why being Jewish is all about the culture as much as it is about the religion.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rosten nominates words for Yinglish, or explains why he thinks certain phrases have Yiddish derivations. Since he spices most of his entries with jokes that use or explain the terms involved, reading this is like indulging in a jokebook.

[Elsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

very interesting to see where some of our language phrases originate

[Tim Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Yiddish language has words for (1) deli items, (2) Jewish ritual, but above all (3) the weaknesses and follies of humanity.