vuzvuz
n.— «I have a new favorite word. It’s slang, but not (as it was explained to me, though it’d be useful to know if someone else out there disagrees) derogatory, for an Ashkenazi* person. The word is “vuzvuz,” ie “That vuzvuz over there by the bus stop…” Why that word, you might ask? Because the Askenazim always asking, “Vus is dis? Vus is dat?” I’m not kidding. That’s really the reason.» —“Today’s Hebrew Lesson” by Danya Jerusalem Syndrome Jan. 29, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
National Book Award winner Barry Lopez had wise advice for young writers. First, read widely and follow your curiosity. Second, travel or learn a foreign language. And third, find out what you truly believe, because if you’re not writing from...
Many of us struggled with the Old English poem “Beowulf” in high school. But what if you could actually hear “Beowulf” in the English of today? There’s a new translation by Maria Dahvana Headley that uses contemporary...