Stacy from Marquette, Michigan, says her German-born grandfather would warn that she was going to get a putsch or potch, meaning a “a gentle slap” on her bottom, if she misbehaved. The German verb Patsch means “slap.” The...
Beth from Springfield, New Hampshire, grew up with potch as both a noun and a verb for a toddler who gets into drawers, cupboards, and other trouble; a family T-shirt even dubbed her “Super Potch.” In Yiddish, potch or putch can mean a slap or...