Doppich and Grex

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, my name is Tony Price. I’m calling from Indianapolis.

Hi, Tony. How are you doing?

I’m doing fine. I’ve got a word my grandmother used to use, and it was DAPIS.

I think D-O-P-I-S. And it meant someone who was kind of swapping around in their food, especially as a child. And she would say, yeah, don’t be a DAPIS.

Don’t be a DAPIS. She didn’t happen to come from Pennsylvania, did she?

We have family in Pennsylvania, but she also, well, the area of Indiana I’m from is very high in German Catholic area.

Yes, and it’s a word that means often clumsy or awkward, and you usually see it D-O-P-P-I-C-H, dopich.

Sometimes dopich as well, D-O-P-P-L-I-C-H.

Yeah, there are lots of different spellings, and it comes from Pennsylvania Dutch.

It goes back to a German word that means the same thing, clumsy or awkward.

It sounds the same.

That’s funny because I’ve never heard anyone else use the word, and that’s why I called.

I tried to use it once with my daughter, and it made her cry, so I took it out of my vocabulary.

She was about five at the time, so I thought, well, no need to use that one.

Why did she cry?

Did she think you were saying bad words to her?

Well, you know, maybe it was just the tone, but she just started crying and said, I don’t want to be adoptive.

And I said, honey, you’re not.

Oh, gosh.

That was the last time I used that word.

Poor thing.

But children are sensitive, right?

She just knew from context that it was something she didn’t want to be.

Yes.

Yeah, I definitely think the context, probably the context and the tone, she knew it wasn’t complimentary.

Yeah.

Oh, no, it doesn’t have anything to do with the word dope.

It goes back to German.

So that’s probably where you picked it up.

Yeah, that’s funny.

Well, I always want to know.

I enjoy your show, and I appreciate taking my call.

Thank you.

Thanks, Tony.

Thanks very much.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Take care.

Bye-bye.

Pennsylvania Dutch is a rich mind of language.

Isn’t it?

There’s a cool word that they have that some people still use in the English-speaking part of the country that has Pennsylvania Dutch settlers.

Grex to complain, G-R-E-X.

Do you know this one?

Grex?

No, that’s great.

That’s a Latin word for flock, I think.

Yeah, so I’m Googling here, and I came across a book that you should definitely read, by the way.

Okay, all right.

Thrill of the Chaste, the Allure of Amish Romance Novels by Valerie Weaver Zerker.

So apparently, she’s written a book about a category of books that I did not know existed.

There’s a category of Amish romance novels.

I’m imagining big shirtless men with huge beards holding the woman in a wagon or something on the cover, right?

Or sitting next to her.

Thrill of the chaste. I love that.

And the big moment in every book is probably like the candle blew out and something happened in the dark.

Clearly further research is needed.

I will get you a copy for Christmas.

I’ll see if I can have the author inscribe it.

Oh my gosh, that’s great.

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