What pet names do you have for your loved ones? In The Joys of Yiddish, Leo Rosten shares the name his Mother used to call him — bubala, a term of endearment grandmothers might use in addressing children. We have all kinds of substitutes for the...
A Philadelphia listener has a Yiddish twist on an old palindrome: “Unable I was ere I saw Elba, nu?” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Yiddish Palindrome” We had an email recently from Jeff in Philly who wrote to ask if we’d ever...
A caller who grew up in New Jersey remembers hearing a neighbor use the expression Hak mir nisht ken tshaynik whenever she wanted to shush someone. He’s sure the phrase is Yiddish, but he’s never been able to figure out the literal meaning. We solve...