November 3, 2021
Four Examples of What Happened to Yiddish After It Reached the United States
By PhilologosIn some cases, changes were minor. In others, Yiddish phrases were transformed nearly beyond recognition.
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Seth Gitell writes:
“Periodically, old Yiddish words pop up in my head, but I’m not always sure what they mean or how to spell them. The people I’ve asked who know scholarly Yiddish haven’t been able to give me answers. Here are a few of these words, used by my parents and grandparents, that don’t show up in the standard vocabulary lists:
“Chalupky. This referred to a beat-up old car, or possibly, to a rundown house.
“Vaidel. A weak or dumb person, as in ‘Don’t stand there like a vaidel, do something!’ or ‘Grandma didn’t care for her husband. He was a vaidel.’
“Ma Habetzky’s. A remote or arcane store of some kind. For example, ‘He had to go to Ma Habetzky’s for the hat.’
“Mish dig and doneshta. I can’t explain this one, but it occurred in sentences like, ‘I don’t want you going off somewhere every mish dig and doneshta.’
“Your help is needed!”