Babushka meant grandmother in Yiddish, in Detroit where I grew up. I always thought it came from the Russian and was picked up by the Jews in Ukraine and Bylorus, etc. We called our grandmothers "Bubby" as a affectionate diminutive, but in Yiddish, (I think, there are language some mixes there) "Bubula" is the diminutive.
The head scarf is a reference to how the older ladies dressed. Now I am of a certain age and if I put on a scarf like that I look like I should be sweeping Red Square. Nancy
