utzy adj. uncomfortable, bothered, uneasy. Etymological Note: Probably from the Yiddish utz ‘to tease, bother, nag,’ related to the German uzen ‘to tease, to kid,’ and perhaps reinforced by antsy. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What kind of book do people ask for most often in prison? Romance novels? No. The Bible? No. The most requested books by far are … dictionaries! A number of volunteer organizations gather and distribute used dictionaries to help inmates with...
Twice a day the River Thames recedes, revealing a muddy shoreline. Hobbyists known as mudlarks stroll the surface searching for objects that have found their way into the river over the centuries, everything from ancient Roman jewelry to modern...
I’m not familiar with the Yiddish word “utz”. Which Yiddish dictionary or thesaurus did you find it in?
I’m not sure which one I pulled it from, but when researching Yiddish words, I tend to consult the following:
Modern English-Yiddish Yiddish English Dictionary, Uriel Weinreich (YIVO, New York, 1968).
Harkavy’s Manual Dictionary (Hebrew Publishing Co., New York, 1894).
Anglish/Yinglish, 2e, Gene Bluestein (U. of Neb. Press, Lincoln, 1998).
Hooray for Yiddish!, Leo Rosten (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1982).
The Joys of Hebrew, Lewis Glinert (Oxford University Press, New York, 1992).
Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, Chaim M. Weiser (Rowman & Littlefield, Maryland, 2004).
The Oxford English-Hebrew Dictionary (Oxford University Press, New York, 1998).
Also, the Harper Collins German Dictionary, Unabridged Second Edition (New York, 1995).
Interesting word. My dad often uses the variant “utchly” to describe being mildly ill tempered for no descernable reason. He got it from his mother, who was a first generation American from German parents. I currently use it to warn my husband as in, “Be nice to me; I’m in an utchly mood.” What I’m meaning is, don’t push me or I’ll go from a mildly bad mood to a really bad mood.