______________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 3.277
March 10, 1994

1) Shm*h*l*kh*  oder shm*h*l*kh*l (Debra Halperin Biasca)
2) Etymological query (Mikhl Herzog)
3) Nadizne/number agreement (Mikhl Herzog)
4) Word-play/shmoolyares (Eli Katz)
5) Kabak, Turkish, etc. (Bob Hoberman)
6) The custom not to count people (Bob Hoberman)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue Mar  8 23:32:35 1994
From: <biasca@horton.Colorado.EDU>
Subject: shm*h*l*kh*  oder shm*h*l*kh*l

The folklore seems to be explained in Meyer Zaremba's *Freud &
Fargenign.*  It comes from a rather coarse side of Yiddish, which
wasn't part of my own folklore(perhaps it was limited to the play of
yingeles un nisht meydeles!).   Author Zaremba recalls this 'game'
as a kind of Yiddish 'eenie, meenie, my-nie mo' routine.  A slightly
different cast than the one referred to on Mendele.

Perhaps another Mendelnik wants to provide the details??  If not,
the book, which seems well worth its $12.50 (includes shipping) is
full of humorous phrases in transliterated and translated form, can
can be had at: 6406 Pointe Pleasant Circle; Delray Beach, FL  33484.

Debra Halperin Biasca

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon Mar  7 23:43:50 1994
From: ZOGUR@CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU
Subject: Etymological Query

The most common Yiddish word for 'shrouds' is "takhrikim". In
Western Yiddish, in addition: "sargenes", probably of Romance
origin. In Poland, a synonym is "soyve(s)/sovyes". Does anyone know
a Slavic etymon? Other?

Mikhl.


3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon Mar  7 22:48:53 1994
From: ZOGUR@CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU
Subject: I) nadizne ii) number agreement

Delphine Bechtel: Welcome. Glad you've come in from the cold.
"nadizne/atyezdne": dos gelt vos a gast lozt iber far a kind az er
fort avek

Ellen Prince: No accounting for it unless (kholile) your father is a
Litvak. If yes, anything is possible. For example: "Mayne shikh
(plural) iz gemakht fun gutn leder" and, of a different order "Mayne
(plural?) blut (sing?) iz azey reyt vi dayne"

You like?

Mikhl

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed Mar  9 14:40:44 1994
From: KATZ@sonoma.edu
Subject: word-play/shmoolyares

1. Cross-language word-play

In the early '20's pharmacy was an attractive "career option" for
aspiring Jewish immigrants (2 year course, no previous college
required).  The Brooklyn College of Pharmacy had a substantial
Jewish student population, and they were required to take a semester
of Latin (ostensibly so as to understand the arcana of Rx
terminology).  This is their innovative paradigm for the first
conjugation:

     amo        amamus
     amas       atates
     amat       akinds

2. shmoolyares

In my youth I often heard Yiddish speakers use the term(s)
'toler/tuler' in place of the standard 'dolar' as the Yiddish
equivalent for Eng. 'dollar'.  It wasn't until I started studying
Germanic linguistics that I realized that these were not
"distortions", but perfectly regular Yiddish cognates of German
'Thaler' and Eng. 'dollar', all of which derive from the
Joachimsthaler, a coin named for the Joachismthal silver mines in
Bohemia.  I also knew and used the term 'shmolyares' (note: not
shmoolyares).  My hunch is that 'shmolyares/shmoolyares' come from
'toler/tuler', with the familiar 'shm-' deprecating prefix, and the
augmentive 'yar(es)' suffix; i.e. toler> shmoler> shmolyar(es).
Come to think of it, I don't recall ever hearing the term used in
the singular.

Eli Katz

5)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed Mar  9 16:52:10 1994
From: Robert D Hoberman <RHOBERMAN@ccmail.sunysb.edu>
Subject: Kabak, Turkish, etc.

Ron Rabin's plausible suggestion that kabak comes from the Turkish
word for 'pumpkin, squash' reminds me that there are a handful of
Yiddish words from Turkish and maybe also Persian.  I'm thinking of
yarmlke, prakes, nahit, and a few more that I can't think of right
now.  Does anybody have any more to add to the list, or know of
anything that's been written about these?  I don't remember coming
across anything in Weinreich's History, but I could be wrong.

Bob Hoberman

6)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed Mar  9 16:52:26 1994
From: Robert D Hoberman <RHOBERMAN@ccmail.sunysb.edu>
Subject: The custom not to count people

The discussion of the custom not to count people reminds me of a
conversation a few years back with a fine Yemenite balebos in
Jerusalem, an educated, sophisticated man.  I was invited to dinner
at his home one shabes, and during dinner, seeing various young
people coming and going, asked how many children he had.  He replied
with a shrug and a sly smile, espor otam baHofesh hagadol "I'll
count them during the summer vacation."

Bob Hoberman

______________________________________________________
End of Mendele Vol. 3.277

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Mendele: Yiddish literature and language