Yiddish words in English

Yiddish words in English
Yiddish words in English
Yiddish is a vernacular language used by European Jews, based chiefly on High German with Hebrew and Slavonic borrowings, and written in Hebrew characters. English, especially AmE, has adopted many words and phrases from Yiddish in the last two hundred years or so, and some of these are given in the table below.
item / meaning
bagel / hard ring-shaped ring of bread
chutzpah / shameless audacity
klutz / clumsy or inept person
kvell / to boast or gloat
mazuma / money
need it like a hole in the head / can well do without it
nosh / food
schlemiel / clumsy person, fool
schlep / to haul or drag
schmuck / abusive term for a person
shtoom / silent
What's with you? / What's the matter?

Modern English usage. 2014.

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