Oofless is an antiquated bit of British slang that describes someone temporarily short on cash. It’s from ooftisch, a Yiddish-derived term for “cash placed on the table,” from German auf Tisch. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “The Yiddish-Derived Term “Ooftisch” Explains British Slang “Oofless””
Brent, suppose I said to you, Hey, I’d join you for dinner, but I’m completely oofless.
What would I be saying?
I have no idea.
Without legs?
No car?
Somebody stole your tires?
No, oofless is an old British slang word that means temporarily short of money.
Oh, gotcha.
Oofless, right.
Yeah.
And it comes from ooftesh, which is a Yiddish derived term for cash placed on the table.
It’s from German auftisch on the table, especially regarding money that’s put down as stakes in a card game.
So if you’re oofless, you don’t have any cash on you.
You’re scant.
You’re scant.
Exactly.
Email us wordswaywardradio dot org.
