Next time you’re chattin’ with your khaverim (friends) and mishpukheh (family), bust out some Yiddish expressions that’ll liven up the conversation. Nothing is censored in Dirty Yiddish. It includes phrases for any situation, so readers have enough chutzpah (balls) to tell the local deli that they’ve waited long enough for their knish, and explicit swear words crude enough to shock Bubby and everyone else at the Passover seder. There’s even vulgar sex terminology so graphic it puts the outspoken Lower East Side princesses to shame. Bust out with expressions they never teach you in school, including cool slang, funny insults, explicit sex terms, and raw swear words. Dirty Yiddish teaches the casual expressions heard every day on the streets of New York . . . What’s up? Vos makhst du? Crazy bastard! Meshuggeneh momzer! I’m hammered. Ikh bin fershikkert. Don’t fuck with me! Bareh mikh nit! I have the shits. Ikh hob a shittern mogn. Lick my pussy. Lekh meyn lokh. Was it good for you? Tsufreedn?

A treasure-trove of golden sayings and pearls of wisdom, mined from the righteous women of yesteryear and carefully passed down through the generations in exquisite Yiddish. Now available in a faithful English translation with the original Yiddish included, along with source material, metaphorical meaning, and relevant tales and anecdotes to illustrate the sayings. In reading this collection of expressions, some will make you laugh, others will bring on the tears, yet others will cause you to reflect, but the overall effect is an endearing, remarkable one. Breathe in the sparkling air of the 'alter heim'--the Old World--and find in it the refreshing insight that is so needed in the world of today.

A compendium of useful, and sometimes off-color, words and phrases. Each phrase or word is followed by humorous examples of how to use them in English conversation. The sidebars contain trivia, little known facts, and background on Judaism, the Jewish people and their languages and culture. Rated X by the author's parents and PG by her kids.

"A cute and charming addition to Yiddish folklore." -I.B. Singer, Nobel Prize, 1978 "Juicy, savory, spicy." -Henry Miller The Yiddish sayings in this book have been praised by such world-acclaimed writers as Henry Miller and Isaac Bashevis Singer. They should equally delight all who can appreciate the coarse, wry humor of the turn-of-the-century European shtetl, which gave rise to so much of American humor as well. Some may be offended by their sexuality and lewdness, but they expose the basic humanity of a lost Jewish culture. For too long eydlkayt - refinement - has drawn a curtain over the smutty side of the shtetl. Enjoyable folklore, funny sayings you'll find yourself using in quite modern situations.

This fascinating, useful, and funny collection of proverbs, curses, maxims, and ribald expressions will teach readers all they ever wanted to know about this remarkable language.

A delightful excursion through the Yiddish language, the culture it defines and serves, and the fine art of complaint Throughout history, Jews around the world have had plenty of reasons to lament. And for a thousand years, they've had the perfect language for it. Rich in color, expressiveness, and complexity, Yiddish has proven incredibly useful and durable. Its wonderful phrases and idioms impeccably reflect the mind-set that has enabled the Jews of Europe to survive a millennium of unrelenting persecution . . . and enables them to kvetch about it! Michael Wex—professor, scholar, translator, novelist, and performer—takes a serious yet unceasingly fun and funny look at this remarkable kvetch-full tongue that has both shaped and has been shaped by those who speak it. Featuring chapters on curse words, food, sex, and even death, he allows his lively wit and scholarship to roam freely from Sholem Aleichem to Chaucer to Elvis. Perhaps only a khokhem be-layle (a fool, literally a "sage at night," when there's no one around to see) would care to pass up this endearing and enriching treasure trove of linguistics, sociology, history, and folklore—an intriguing appreciation of a unique and enduring language and an equally fascinating culture.