Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Top Ten Words I Learned From My Brothers

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is dedicated to my brother, who is coming home from camp today. I've been bugging him for help on this via text message for days, and I feel kinda bad that I can't tell my family about my blog, cuz he should really get to read this...


10) Yeshivish- this is a multi-faceted word. It can be used to describe many things. The thing that I find funny, is that a self proclaimed yeshivish boy uses the word "yeshivish" to insult things. "This washing machine doesn't work right. It's so yeshivish!" "Look at that car, it's so banged up it looks yeshivish!"

9) Karg- it took me a while to figure this one out. All I knew was that I was continuously described as Karg. When I refused to give my brother some of my ice cream, and earned the title of Karg, I figured it out. In English, I'm stingy.

8) Teef- This one still hasn't been explained, so if anyone feels like enlightening me, I'd appreciate it. It seems to have a negative connotation though, unless I miss my bet.

7) Mashehu- this isn't really a yeshivish word, but I found it funny when my brother said that the sink has a mashehu coming out of it every now and then. Why couldn't he just say it's leaking?

6) Grada- this one is grada hard to explain

5) Mamish- this one is so common, we forget that it's such a yeshivish word. But it is. In fact, this is the ultimate yeshivish word. It's mamish yeshivish.

4) Fest- this one hasn't gotten me a full explanation, but I'm starting to get the picture of it. I asked my brother what fest means, and he couldn't think of an explanation for me. So I asked him to use it in context. "A festa zach." Hmmmm... I asked for more info. "What would be a festa zach?" He couldn't think of it on the spot. Finally, someone else piped up, "eating chulent late at night is a festa zach!" Does fest mean heartburn?

3) Zach- I'm pretty clueless as to the benefit of using zach over thing is, but millions of gemara kups can't be wrong!

2) Lechoira- I asked my brother for a translation of this, and found his answer very enlightening: "it bietzem means the same thing as mistama." Wow, how eloquent!

1) Matziv- le'maase, the matziv is that girls and boys don't only come from different planets and engage in different past times, but they don't even speak the same language!

And, as my brother said when I finished hounding him for definitions of yeshivish words: "don't think you can speak yeshivish now. If you want to speak yeshivish you have to go to yeshiva or get married."

23 comments:

itsagift said...

Oh! I love this one!! It's great!!
btw, Teef means DEEP. Like, the sugya I'm learning is very teef so please don't interrupt me! Besides, it would be bitul toiyrah!
Don't know why you thought it has a negative connotation though!
And fest - I think it means something like, great, marvelous, amazing...but like all these words, you have to use it in the right context! You can't say, this blog is fest (even though, yeah, it is AMAZING!) but you could say, We went on a festa trip in camp!!
There are some more words I could add to this list, but I guess when you are limited to ten, you have to stick to ten and not more...

Originally From Brooklyn said...

Teef- multifaceted
Ma'Shehu- a small amount
Grada-actually
Mamish-used for emphasis when something is either very good or very bad.
Fest-awesume
Zach-thing
Lechoira-thinking about it for a few seconds but not giving it much thought at all
Matziv-situation

English could be used, but who knows English?

MusingMaidel said...

Did you ever hear the journey's song Yeshivishe Reid? I was just listening to it and marveling that I understood less than half the words. Since I can't go to yeshiva, I guess I'll have to get married. Any suggestions?

Freeda said...

Let's see if I can shed some light on numbers one and seven
1. Yeshivish, means something's not in good condition cuz "yeshivish" people don't have enough money to buy a new one.
7-mashehu means something in hebrew, never heard it used as yeshivish lang. - israeli's use it to mean, something special, amazing as in- that performance was Mashehu, mashehu

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

lol, I remember when people called Station wagons Yeshivish! Now you barely see them.

Karg is a new word for me.

Never heard of Teef before.

my professor would always say it's "Mamush Gevaldik", wonder if the non Jews figured out what that meant.

Never heard of Fest before.

Itsagift: funny how they practically sound the same.

lol, your brother sounds like a real yeshivisha boy! loved that quote. btw, this reminds me of a Journeys performance I went to, where they had a song about Yeshivish lingo, I wrote a post about it and included the lyrics. Now I realize you saw it before.

Do Yeshivish guys really speak yeshivish to their wives?

Anonymous said...

great post now maybe ill understand what my brother is always hocking about and thinks hes so cool... ;-) (btw which i really don't care if i don't understand the language- since i don't understand the majority of languages anyway ;)) and besides i don't mind getting married to learn it LOL ;-)
i have a question that i was reminded of when i read the post-dont think it has anything to do with anything and being that im really tired..but im gonna ask anyway...
whats a harry?
it was a discussion and there is a machlokes so....im turning to the anonymous blog world...thanks
complaint about incoherence- sorry complain to the management for making me wake at unearthly hours of the morning ;-)

Inspired said...

I totally know yeshivish :p

You're all wrong. Technically fest mean firm or sturdy. It is however used (mainly by boys)when doing something really cool, weird or different like eating chulent late at night... (that's the best explanation I can give:-))

and teef means deep, you got that definition already.

thinking out loud said...

Karg, teef and fest were new words for me, so thanx for the quasi-definitions :)
and MM, im in this with you - it can be reason #who-knows-what to get married...

harry-er than them all said...

yeshivish is as yeshivish does.

i had a friend who was on the highway driving an old grand marquis, and the material on the back part of the car started ripping off (its sort of this cloth/plastic material)

anyhow he pulled into a rest area and a black guy offered to help him some duct tape to tape it up till he gets home. So he says to his friend "this is so yeshivish"
and the black dude says "i don't know what you just called it, but we call this ghetto"

if you want to read further someone put out a dictionary on yeshivish a few years ago.

Mushkie said...

yes, lol (yeshivish guys speak that way to their wives), which probably inspired the journeys song. chabad have a different language which is similiar to yeshivish but with a different accent and some different expressions.

Staying Afloat said...

Loved the list. You should check with Daughters in the Parsha any post about YBS.

http://daughtersintheparsha.blogspot.com

Something Different said...

IAG- Oh, makes sense, cuz I think he uses it to make fun of us. Like when I explain something he tells me it's teef...
And please add to the list, I'd love that!

CIB- nobody apparently. :-p

MM- I did hear it, and after I typed this post I was listening to it and laughing...
And no, do I look like the sort of person who goes around redting shidduchim? lol

Freeda- Yeah, I get that, but my question is, why does he also make fun of people by saying they aren't yeshivish?
And I think mashehu has its own very special definition in the context of yeshivisha reid.

JSB- Yes, they were, lol I forgot about those!
My brother is exraordinarily yeshivish. His language is so full of that stuff... I did read your post about that song, it was a while ago tho, no?

Anon- Glad to be of service. My suggestion for dealing with your brothers is to learn french... ;-)
And I really am not sure about Harrys. I tried to get my brother to explain it to me but he lost patience...maybe someone here could shed some light on it...

Insp- You know yeshivish? What a shock! :-p
Thats cool about fest, I am gonna tell me brother and knock his socks off.

TOL- Glad to help. And personally I think going to yeshiva is easier than gettin married, but thanks for the idea... :-P

HTTA- What was the dictionary called?

Mushkie- Can you give us some examples?

SA- Thanks. :-) Yes, I've seen hers...

Mikeinmidwood said...

I wrote a whole post about it the yeshivish lingo and I cant take it (nor can I take chulent), Lechoira Im grada just ah shtarkeh am haaretz (if that doesnt make sense than I am really an am haaretz).

itsagift said...

Here are some more...
I'll leave the definitions up to all of you:
aderaba
memayla
l'mun efshuch
al kol panim
tzugepast (it's a shidduch word!)
There were more but I forgot them...
Now check this out! It's funny!!Yeshivish Dictionary Wanna buy it?

Vincetastic said...

Hey Blob this is another excellent top ten list. I just wanted to let you know again that you can cross-post this to our site http://www.toptentopten.com/ and link back to your site. We are trying to create a directory for top ten lists where people can find your site. The coolest feature is you can let other people vote on the rankings of your list.

itsagift said...

And another few that I just remembered:
L'maysah and anshuldicks.
And then there's: Shkoiyach - you'll hear it at a family simcha after someone chashuv finishes giving a gevaldige schmooze...

Something Different said...

MIM- LOL! It takeh sounds like you are, mistama.

IAG- The boys went back to yeshivah, how'm I sposta do them? ;-)
And some of those, like anshuldigs and shkoyach are more yiddish than ordinary yeshivish. Like, the chasidim I know use them just as much as my brother(s).

Vince- Nice of you to offer, but I highly doubt your readers understand yeshivish. LOL.

corti said...

How about oisergevaintlach lol

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

Auror: what does that mean?

EN said...

Great post,

I believe the actual translation of karg is meager

A few other yeshivish words,

Azoi
Farshtetzach
Al kol panim
nisht
gleib/glatt

Something Different said...

Auror- Huh?

JSB- I was wondering the same thing...

EN- Hey!! Welcome back!! I missed you! Those are awesome words...lol shame my brother is back in yeshivah...cant ask him. ;-)

EN said...

I never was gone ;-) I always read you but don't have anything smart to contribute.
Love you!

corti said...

I think oisergevaintlach means exceptional or outstanding, my chumash teacher in hs used to write it on our testpapers... but it was so 'memorable' that the word stuck w/ me lol