______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.257 March 2, 1994 1) Shmoolyaris (Fishl Kutner) 2) Shmoolyaris (Martin Gaynor) 3) Shmoolyaris (Zev Kesselman) 4) Two comments (Jules Levin) 5) The name for 'yiddish' (Ellen Prince) 6) Sports terminology (Neil Jacobs) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun Feb 27 21:15:30 1994 From: Philip Kutner Subject: Shmoolyaris In unzer hoyz hobn mir genutst 'shmelaris' far dem vort 'dolar'. DOLAR iz geven TOLAR. Oykhet, gedenk ikh dem vort MAKEES. Der tate iz geven a Lodzer, un die mame iz gekumen nokh dem ershtn velt milkhome fun Tiktin--nisht vayt fun Biyalostok. Als a kind gedenk ikh az mir hobn belangt tsum GLOVNER SOCIETY. Iz do emitsn vos hot gehert defon? Fishl 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Feb 28 11:43:03 1994 From: Martin Gaynor Subject: Shmoolyaris Recently Zachary Baker wrote that in Philip Roth's new book Roth's parents are cited as using the term "shmoolyaris" for money and wondered about the possible origins of the term. While I have never heard such a term used in Yiddish either, I wonder if it is a "Yiddishization" of "simolies," a slang term for money (I have no idea of the origins of this term.). Martin Gaynor 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue Mar 1 10:16:50 1994 From: Subject: Shmulyares Zachary Baker asks: >strangest word I came across in Mr. Roth's new book is 'shmoolyaris' >(singular, 'shmoolyareh'), used by his Jewish immigrants to mean >'dollars.' Do any of you remember such a word from your childhoods? >Could it possibly come from 'Shmul,' the Yiddish form of the Hebrew >name Shmuel or Samuel -- that is Uncle Sam?" I don't remember the word from my childhood, but I've been puzzling for years about a definition in the OSPD (Official Scrabble Players' Dictionary): Simoleon, n. A dollar. Sounds like the answer to one may be the answer to the other. Zev Kesselman 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Feb 28 19:01:43 1994 From: Subject: two comments 1. re feygele: Given the nature of lexicon origin there is no need for a monogenesis for this term. It is clearly reinforced by its being a yiddish-ization of "fag", and it could also be connected with the dim. of 'bird'. I'm not sure the connection "bird-penis' works here. As Kessler notes, the context is hetero, but more significantly, it is at least as much Christian as pagan. It is not just A bird, but the dove, which in early Christian art is poised in the air strategically over an otherwise nude christ-figure. The dove is an ancient symbol of fecundity, and it is no accident that the ruach kodesh appeared to Mary in that form when the founding deed of one of our daughter religions was performed. But did such metaphors find their way into the consciousness of Ashkenazi Jews? By the way, does the proverb "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" have any relevance here? 2. Note to Howie Aronson: In Lithuanian also the only term in common use is Zhydas. The "hebraju kalba" etc, being strictly learned. Is there really a connection between usage and Cath vs Ortho? In Russian the dichotomy is a learned phenomenon, the descent of zhid being a development of the last 2 centuries. I guess the further out into the sticks you go in Russia, the more neutral the term. Jules Levin 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Feb 28 08:49:59 1994 From: "Ellen F. Prince" Subject: the name for 'yiddish' thanks to howard aronson and others who've pointed out that there are lots of 'jewish' languages, so calling yiddish 'jewish' would be eurocentric etc. but how come such eurocentrism is totally ok in yiddish, where, after all, the language IS called by the yiddish word for 'jewish'? while this eurocentrism avoidance might be a good reason for keeping the english term as it now stands, i find it hard to believe that it was any sort of real motivation for adopting it in the first place. ellen prince 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue Mar1 10:16:41 1994 From: Neil G Jacobs Subject: Sports terminology I would appreciate help on the following: The people who run the electronic message boards at football & basketball games plan to put digitized cheers on the board in several languages (in orthography, since it will be digitized). They have requested the Yiddish equivalent for the yell: "Defense!" In English, this is a noun (though with "sports-stress on initial syllable). Can anyone provide me with a reliable Yiddish corresponding word/phrase? Obviously, I'm looking for what Yiddish speakers would call during football/soccer/basketball games, not merely a translation of "defense" into "farteydikung" (unless that is what people actually have used). Thus, it may be something that translates into English as "stop ('em)", or "block ('em)", or whatever. If people can provide a few other such sports terms, it would be appreciated. Thanks. Neil Jacobs ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.257 To subscribe, send SUB MENDELE FIRSTNAME LASTNAME to: LISTSERV@YALEVM.YCC.YALE.EDU Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a Subject: line. 2. Sign your article. 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