57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
OY! What a mechaieh!, January 13, 2001
A mechaieh, as Mr Rosten defines it, is a `pleasure, great enjoyment, a real joy...invariably uttered with a smile, a grin, a patting of the stomach, a pleased cluck or shake of the head'. That term is a perfect description of this wonderful book, written not only with humor but real care, love, erudition and depth. It is not only a collection of marvelous words and unforgettable jokes and stories, but a perfect introduction to both religious and secular Jewish culture in all its glory. This is one of the funniest books you will ever read, even if you aren't Jewish. In fact, in the 40 years this book has been around, I'm sure it's inspired a few conversions!
Where else can you learn all the nuances of the 29 different ways to say `Oy!' (which, of course, is not a word, but a vocabulary), the 19 different meanings of `Nu?' and the 20 situations where `Feh!' is the most appropriate thing to say? Or when (and when not) to say `Mazel Tov!'?
For those who are unfamiliar with Yiddish - and there are probably very few of you because it has so thoroughly penetrated the English language - it is the mamaloshen (mother tongue) of the Askenazic (i.e German, Russian and Eastern European) Jewish community, with comprises roughly 85% of Jews worldwide. It is a mixture of German, Hebrew, English, and various other European languages - I am not sure of the exact percentages but it's about 70% German. Words such as chutzpah, yenta, schlemiel, kvetch and dreck, as well as prefixes such as `sh' and `shm' (as in `Oedipus-Shmoedipus, as long as he loves his mother') and suffixes such as `nik' (beatnik, peacenik, nudnik) all come from this marvelous language. So do various lingustic devices such as scorn through reversed word order (`Already you're discouraged?'), shifting emphasis in a sentence from one word to another (`HIM you trust?' is very different from `him you TRUST?'), and frankly, too many to list in a review limited to 1,000 words.
As Rosten himself says, this is not so much a book about Yiddish itself or a Yiddish dictionary but a book how English has been affected by Yiddish and immeasurably enriched by it.
The book is written in dictionary format, where every word is given at least one definition and pronunciation, and then illustrated with at least one if not more stories, some poignant, most hilarious. In fact, I think more dictionaries and word books should use Rosten's approach - it's a lot easier to retain vocabulary if you're laughing your head off and will never forget the story the new word is used in. Because of this format, you don't have to read it from cover to cover (although you'll probably want to), but can simply open to a random page and discover a treasure.
I also really like the somewhat old fashioned sweetness and innocence of this book. Although it is occasionally slightly vulgar (e.g. the entries on `schmuck' and `putz'), and Yiddish is one of the best languages around for invective, rarely, if ever, do we see the kind of schadenfreude and sheer mean-spiritedness that often passes for humor these days.
There is also a very valuable appendix with some 60 articles on various Jewish rituals, customs, and superstitions ranging from Anointing to False Messiahs to Yom Kippur.
I do have some minor quibbles. One is that some of the transliterations into English are to my mind a little strange. I have never seen `yeshiba' for `yeshiva' elsewhere, for example. Also, this book IS 40 years old and some of the social trends it discusses and makes fun of are long past. The Lower East Side of New York, for example, is no longer a poor Jewish neighborhood, and (SOB!) the Catskill culture seems to be dying out as many of the hotels have been sold. I'm not sure if Jewish suburban matrons are still taking on such ultra-assimilated names as Dyanne and Sadelle and Shirlee. I also doubt if very many people my age - I'm 31 - know what the Hays code is, let alone understand a joke about it. I'm not saying any of this material should have been left out, but especially since this is a new paperback edition Rosten might have added some new material reflecting the foibles of the more modern Jewish and Yiddish speaking communities. Then again, I haven't read all of his books yet, and that material might be in some of his more recent works.
And finally, some of the BEST Yiddish phrases are probably way too vulgar for this PG rated book!
Still, this book is essential for anyone even remotely interested in Judaism, Jewish culture, immigrant culture, languages, or a whole host of other subjects. As I said before, you don't have to be Jewish - in fact, one of the biggest mavens (experts) on Yiddish was none other than James Cagney! I assure you that you will have a huge grin on your face every time you put this book down - if you put it down. Frankly, the book is worth buying for the stories under "Oyrech" and "Talmid Chachem" alone.
Alright already! I've kvelled (gushed) over this book enough. From ME you need to hear more? If you don't buy it, you're meshuggeneh (crazy)!
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even a nebech will brighten up with this book, March 25, 2001
A nebech is more to be pitied than a schlemiel because you can nevr dislike a nebech .. you can only feel sorry for him. Therefore, make a poor nebech smile with a gift of this charming book. My mother, aleha ha-shalom (may she rest in peace) loved this book because she, as someone fluent in Yiddish, knew how dead on right Rosten is in his understanding and explanation of the nuances of Yiddish. For someone like me, who is not fluent, but understands the flavor of Yiddish, this book is a gem because in a charming and humorous way, it increases the depth of my feeling for the mama loshen (mother tongue). If you were to just open this book for the jokes, it stands well as a great book of Jewish humor. Together with it's instruction on how to understand the flavor of Yiddish, this book is five star plus! This book is one that I open over and over again. It never becomes tiresome. I have literally been using it for decades and it seems as fresh and new as the day I first opened it. Oy ... a book that has been in print since 1968 must have something going for it. I recommend this modern classic.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A JOY OF A BOOK, December 30, 2002
THE JOYS OF YIDDISH is a delightful little dictionary of Yiddish words and expressions that have worked their way into the English language, or at least should have. I can't count the times I've heard people with no background in Yiddish use words like "mavin" (expert), or "shnuk" (a real pitiful character), or dozens of others.
Rosten's frequent approach is to take a word or expression, explain its pronunciation, define it as nearly as is possible, and give an anecdote or example of its use. When the word lends itself to humor, Rosten usually opts for a humorous anecdote.
For an example, I've chosen the word "chutzpah." It is pronounced to rhyme with foot spa, with the ch rolled in your throat to give the German gutteral "kh" sound, not like the ch in "choo-choo." The nearest you can come to defining "chutzpah" in English is unmitigated gall or perhaps brazen effrontery. An example of "chutzpah" is the man who, after killing his mother and father, asks the court for mercy because, after all, he IS an orphan.
There are hundreds of such examples in the book. There are also many more serious examples of words that do not lend themselves to humor.
At the end of the book there are appendices which discuss Jewish Traditions, Ceremonies, Religious Writings, Names, and more.
Rosten has evidently done his research to come up with the many hundreds of entries in the book. He has provided a valuable research document and a book that can be opened to almost any page and elicit a chuckle or two.
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