Book Description
Do you know when to cry Mazel tov -- and when to avoid it like the plague? Did you know that Oy! is not a word, but a vocabulary with 29 distinctvariations, sighed, cried, howled, or moaned, employed to express anything fromecstasy to horror? Here are words heard 'round the English-speaking world: chutzpa, or gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, "...that quality enshrined in a man who,having killed his mother and his father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan." Then there's mish-mosh, or mess, hodgepodge,total confusion...and shamus, or private eye.

They're all here and more, in Leo Rosten's glorious classic The Joys of Yiddish, which weds scholarship to humor and redefines dictionary to reflect the heart and soul of a people through their language, illuminating each entry with marvelous stories and epigrams from folklore and the Talmud, from Bible to borscht belt and beyond. With Rosten's help, anyone can pronounce and master the nuances of words that convey everything from compassion to skepticism. Savorthe irresistible pleasure of Yiddish in this banquet of a book!

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: The Joys of Yiddish by Leo Rosten, 12 Aug 2002 By  Mr J Griffiths (Gloucester, Gloucestershire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews A fair overview of common words and phrases in the (mainly Poilisher dialect of) Yiddish. This book won't teach you to speak Yiddish, but is invaluable in understanding and appreciating Jewish humour, some of which features even in Gentile American comedy. Rosten illustrates the majority of the entries with anecdotes and jokes, most of which are very funny indeed. One thing though; if it's Hebrew you want to know about, well, it's an entirely different language and, as a hebraist myself, I have to say that some aspects of Rosten's notes on Hebrew are rather troubling. But his Yiddish seems sound, and that is, after all, what I bought this book to sample. I did so in 1980, and still dip into it on occaision. Enjoy! Aleichem (or, dear Ladies, Aleichen) Shalom, John Griffiths RGN BD(hons.)  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this) › See all customer reviews...		Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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