Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ____________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 25.002 May 28, 2015 1) brengen unter di hent (Hershl Hartman) 2) bavayzn zikh (Hershl Hartman et al.) 3) tsunoyfgenumen vi a nikl (Moshe Taube) 4) "On the head of a thief" (Hershl Bershady) 5) toykhekhe (Irwin Lebow) 6) af tselokhes (Alan Shuchat) 7) hooleila / kholere (Harriet Gittl Korim) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: May 21 Subject: brengen unter di hent Assuming Martin Jacobs [25.001] is the victim of a typographical error (not uncommon in published Yiddish texts), the quoted sentence should have read "…di arbet hot bay zey GEBRENT under di hent." That is, the men worked so furiously that their work "burned beneath their hands." The phrase is quite common. Hershl Hartman Los Angeles, CA [Similar responses received from: Moshe Taube, Paula Teitelbaum, Aaron Krishtalka.] 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: May 21 Subject: bavayzn zikh The infinitive "bavayzn zikh" is defined in the new Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary as "appear, show up." Martin Jacobs' quoted use [25.001] is in the past tense, "bavizn zikh." "zikh bavizn" would be a similar usage in the quoted context. Hershl Hartman Los Angeles, CA Barry Goldstein offers: "...The goyim then got quieter, 'showing themselves' [odd way of saying 'staying as they were'] without the noisy confusion..." [Similar response received from Paula Teitelbaum.] 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: May 21 Subject: tsunoyfgenumen vi a nikl "vi a nikl" [25.001] should be written in Standard Yiddish "vu a nikl" and it means: "he scraped up wherever (he could find) a nickle". In the shtetl it would have been: er hot tsunoyfgenumen vu a groshn. M. Taube 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: May 21 Subject: "On the head of a thief" Dear Mendelyaners, A colleague asked me whether I knew the Yiddish translation and perhaps transliteration of the following, which his mother used to say: "On the head of a thief, the hat turns twice as fast." Alas, I could not help him with either, but perhaps many of you who are more knowledgeable can. Although I’m far from clear as to its meaning, It is quite an interesting expression. A sheynem dank, Hershl Bershady 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: May 21 Subject: toykhekhe Many years ago I read the translation of a Yiddish short story about a man whose sole job in his shtetl was to take the aliyah in which the list of curses (the toykhekhe) is read. Then the man left town and the townspeople didn't know what to do. My memory fails me and I have not been able to identify the name of the story or its author. Can anyone help? Irwin Lebow Chevy Chase, MD 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: May 22 Subject: af tselokhes Joyce Tamara [25.001] asks about a Bikel recording. Here's a reference to it: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__digital.library.upenn.edu_webbin_freedman_lookupwork-3Fhr-3D-26what-3DAf-2520tselokhes-2520ale-2520sonim-252C-2520lomir-2520frank-2520un-2520fray-252C-2520lomir-2520zingen&d=AwIGaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=D8C0VFGQIMfNsn7w8b0vfE3r3ePhWQ7ssdhDNAOIA7Y&m=vMYEJwGe7rL8ZzKP2nor5VO4lHkevz2UDURmnke9kWY&s=Aepf5xFUroVqjR4XXFWOzGIvfIDkjlW4C3UWrO1-rL0&e= ... Alan Shuchat [Similar response received from Oron Joffe and Itsik Goldenberg] 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: May 28 Subject: hooleila / kholere [See 24.012 and 25.001] My Litvish mom (from Dabeik) didn't swear much, but when she did, this was one she used a lot; she pronounced it "Kholeriya!" It was a very potent curse, especially for those who survived the epidemics of flu, typhus and cholera following WWI. Harriet Gittl Korim ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 25.002 Please do not use the "reply" key when writing to Mendele. Instead, direct your mail as follows: Material for Mendele Personal Notices & Announcements, i.e. announcements of events, commercial publications, requests to which responses should be sent exclusively to the request's author, etc., always in plain text (no HTML or the like) to: [email protected] (in the subject line write Mendele Personal) Material for postings to Mendele Yiddish literature and language, i.e. inquiries and comments of a non-commercial or publicity nature: [email protected] IMPORTANT: Please include your full name as you would like it to appear in your posting. No posting will appear without its author's name. 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