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I am currently awaiting delivery of Uriel Weinreich's much-praised Yiddish-English/English-Yiddish dictionary. There may be more comprehensive anthologies of Jewish humour, but few of them can boast Rosten's impeccable comic timing. It wasn't the definitions that got me, nor was it the occasional softpedalling when it came to etymology. The late great Israeli dissident Israel Shahak observed that the entry on "shaygets", which Rosten says is of "Possible Hebrew origin", obscures the fact that it's certainly derived from the Hebrew word "sheqets", which is used in the Torah to refer to things that are unclean - which in turn means that "shaygets" has a nastier and murkier edge than Rosten was willing to admit. In the meantime, Bush has done a good job of updating and expanding Rosten's very entertaining book. Then again, my Pocket Ben-Yehuda Hebrew-English Dictionary, dating from 1951, defines "sheqets" as an "unclean animal".
I used to have an old 70s paperback of the original version of "The Joys of Yiddish", but I eventually got rid of it because I found it a bit too superficial in its coverage. non-Jewish youngster; 2. Slang being an oral thing, I am inclined to agree with those who regard shamus-meaning-cop as being of Irish origin.I for one applaud Lawrence Bush's commentary, which has the virtue of leaving Rosten's original text unchanged but adds much-needed historical perspective. The Egyptian captain asks the first spy "Do you have any last requests." The first spy says "A cigarette," and the captain gives him a cigarette, lights it and turns to the second one. They are put up against the wall and the firing squad marches in. [slang] cheeky fellow or young Jew with a non-Jewish appearance", so perhaps the word has lost some of its sting over the centuries. Being a language nerd I wanted to come to grips with Yiddish as a real language, and not just be able to drop the odd word into my conversation. So I was in a bookshop on my lunch hour and this revised edition was sitting on the shelf beckoning to me and smiling.
Dovid Katz's "Words on Fire" is an absorbing history of the language and his hard-to-find "Grammar of the Yiddish Language" is an essential resource. The book is worth the cover price for the jokes alone. I don't understand the complaint that it's ruined the book, because the book is still there (and secondhand copies of the original are not hard to find).No, the real pleasure of the book is Rosten's unparalleled collection of jokes. "Do you have any last requests." he asks, and the second spy spits in the captain's face. Elsewhere, I am forced to quibble with Rosten's suggestion that "shamus", meaning a cop or detective, is derived from the Yiddish "shammes".
Don't make trouble."If you want to learn about Yiddish, and why wouldn't you, there are plenty of excellent scholarly and popular works to consult. It's not the best book on Yiddish, but it's probably the most popular one and with good reason. "Harry." says the first spy, "please. I gave in. My favourite one is about the two Israeli spies captured in Cairo.
"Shammes" is pronounced (according to Rosten) SHAH-mes, but "shamus" is pronounced SHAY-mus, exactly like the Irish name "Seamus", which Rosten mentions as a possible origin but appears not to agree with. (However, Webster's New World Hebrew-English dictionary, which is explicitly about modern Hebrew, defines "sheygets" only as "1. Go figure).
i purchased the book as a gift for someone who was interested in learning something about yiddish. thils is an updated version of leo rosten's original book. it appears a bit overdone in its scholarly definitions.
For example, for an honest translation and etymology of "shaygetz" or "shiksa," see the Meggido Modern Hebrew-English Dictionary:"sheqetz: unclean animal, loathsome creature, abomination."
But I didn't really know that before I bought it. It was not intended as such. It's a classic, and I still really had fun with it. I hoped there'd me more actual language and less American-isms. But I get it now that I've read it - and the introductions.
Finally, he inserts commercials for Reconstructionism and Jewish Renewal, which are valid expressions of Judaism but are post-1950s American in origin and NOT a part of the old Yiddish culture Rosten celebrates. I was raised Reform, and I found them funny) and ruins the humourous "shadchan" (matchmaker) entry by going on at length about Jewish domestic abuse (a problem to be sure, but no more so than in any other ethnicity). Lighten up, Bush. There's no need to repeat the deservedly fine comments already posted about Rosten's book. Stick with Rosten's original text if you can find it. While Bush does preserve Rosten's witty text intact, he spoils things by adding agenda-driven footnotes throughout. I simply wish to recommend buying any edition PRIOR to this 2001 revision by Lawrence Bush. Bush castigates Rosten for making Reform jokes (please.
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