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If You Can't Say Anything Nice, Say It in Yiddish
2023 Poll Winners
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2023/4 Discussion for Lita Epstein's If You Can't Say Anything Nice, Say It in Yiddish
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Mod
Hi,I had the book already and so I started it a few days ago. I'll wait until others have read it before I give any opinions. Enjoy.
Mod
I had the book already and so I started it a few days ago. I'll wait until others have read it before I give any opinions. Enjoy."
In the meantime, give us something to whet our appetite(s) if possible! 😄
When I was growing up my childhood ears heard my father say in Yiddish "Don't hock me a chinick (chynik?) " to my mother when he didn't want to talk about something. Now I know what the expression means and how to say it correctly. So much nicer and funnier than saying shut up. I wonder now if he knew what it meant when he was saying it, or was he just repeating what he heard growing up? . I'll let you find it in the book and hope it gives you a laugh, too. No spoiler , here.
Mod
There are better books on Yiddish, most of which have sections on curses. My complaint about this one is that the sayings aren't translated word for word, and I want to understand what each individual Yiddish word means, which the glossary doesn't do. I'm especially frustrated by long phrases.
Mod
I prefer the latter, just for the halibut!
Maybe this book will stimulate our interest and lead some of us to those better books. Maybe this book will be a "gateway" book to Yiddish for some of us, so as we go along please tell us about those other books.
Mod
Maggie-
My mother told me about a yiddish group on Facebook when I asked her what a specific phrase "really" meant. She showed me the group and I must tell you that the members are funnier than the purpose of the group. They are extremely good natured and lively; from almost all over the world. Take a look.
Mod
I had a chance to open it up, and found myself doing it more for the humor of the English version than for trying out the Yiddish.
I should say I grew up without extended family or situations where I got to hear Yiddish. But when I read about Toches ahfen tish, for example, in The Jew Store, I got quite into it. Found out it did mean "put up or shut up," like she says, or "put your money where your mouth is" -- something like that -- but here just listed with short & sweet curses. Surprised me since in The Jew Store, it wasn't used as a curse at all.
She explained how the curses would be issued in the form of a blessing, to get around curses being prohibited. Which I took as being not nice. I like the ones with a double whammy. Like, "May your enemies sprain their ankles dancing on your grave." Ha!
Or the ones that make you have to stop & think, like, "May you never grow old!"
Have read elsewhere these curses were often the province of women, who were doubly powerless. That might have been in Miriam's Kitchen, one of our past poll winners.
I did question the intended audience of the book. Early in the book she talks about the Old Testament -- while Jews, at least those who aren't disconnected, would say TANAKH, Hebrew Bible -- anything but OT. And when explaining how to pronounce "ch," I always use Chanukah, while she used a German word, achtung. (...once I heard a entire audiobook read with "Hannah" pronounced "Chanah!" 😆)
I was a bit surprised and a little bit disappointed by a couple things in the book. Overall, I enjoyed the book and liked the first two or three chapters, just wish there was more substance to it. I am going to reference the book for a monthly letter I am writing. I was surprised that the author used achtung to describe the guttural ‘ch’ sound. Most say it is like clearing your throat, or like the ‘ch’ in Loch Ness, or Bach. The achtung seemed to jump out at me. Or maybe I’m too sensitive? Also mentioning the Old Testament seemed odd. Usually if the words Old Testament are used, there is an explanation that it is the book we refer to as the Tanakh.
The inventiveness of the creators of these words is charming. Some of them make you think twice to realize you’ve been cursed or insulted. With the second half of the book, basically a repeat of the first, there wasn’t a lot to say and so the reading went quickly.
When my dad would say ‘Don’t hock me a chinick.” It is actually ’Hak mir nit kain cheinik.’ Don’t bang on my tea kettle. A more polite way to say shut up or stop, leave me alone. I was watching a TV show and the host picked up from the stove a large metal tea pot and called it a cheinik. Banging on that with a metal or wooden spoon would create a racket, and give anyone a headache.
Thank you for mentioning Toches ahfen tish. I am reading the Jew Store right now and just came upon that phrase. Perhaps it is a curse when used by one person to another telling them to put up or shut up.
Overall, enjoyable, I’ll use some bits and pieces from the book. Maybe update my minimal knowledge of Yiddish. My cats though are bi-lingual. They respond to both Food! and Nosh! when I call them. Sorry, I just needed to include that.
Mod
So glad you did, Irene; gave me a good laugh.
Mod
How did you react to this one? Is it cathartic? Funny?