Fwd: mini Yiddish lesson

[Kim & Rima McKinzey]

Just got this from a friend - and appropriate in that we just had a
thread re chopped liver.  Rima

>Rosten cites the following examples of linguistic devices in English, that
>are Yiddish in origin, to "convey nuances of affection, compassion,
>displeasure, emphasis, disbelief, skepticism, ridicule, sarcasm, and
>scorn."
>
>Mordant syntax: "Smart, he isn't."
>Sarcasm through innocuous diction: "He only tried to shoot himself."
>Scorn through reversed word order: "Already you're discouraged?"
>Contempt through affirmation: "My partner, he wants to be."
>Fearful curses sanctioned by nominal cancellation: "May all your teeth fall
>out except one, so that you can have a toothache, God forbid."
>Derisive dismissal disguised an innocent interrogation: "I should pay him
>for such devoted service?"
>And (finally, we get to it!):
>
>Blithe dismissal via repetition with an sh- play-on-the-first-sound: "The
>mayor? Mayor, Shmayor, it's his wife who runs the town!"
>The use of sh- or shm- isn't merely dismissal-- it's a pooh-poohing with
>blatant mockery.
>
>"The doctor says he has a serious virus? Virus, shmirus, as long as he's
>healthy."
>"Who said that? Fred? Fred, Shmed, what does he know?"
>"The psychiatrist says he has an Oedipus complex. Oedipus, Shmoedipus, so
>long as he loves his mother."
>As to the origin of the sh- sound for this derision, we can only speculate.
>There are a number of Yiddish words of aspersion that start with sh- or
>shm-: shmo (a jerk) , shlemiel (the person who always spills the soup),
>shlmazel (the person on whom the soup gets spilled by the shlemiel), shnook
>(a meek patsy), schnorrer (beggar, panhandler, cheapskate, chiseler, bum),
>shloomp (a drip), schmuck (son-of-a-bitch), et al. Perhaps that's the way
>it began.
>
>While we're on the subject of Yiddish, another expression whose origin
>people wonder about is, "What am I, chopped liver?"
>
>Consult an excellent website about all things Jewish, Ask the Rabbi
>(www.ohr.org.il/web/index/askfull.htm).  (I didn't check this out.)
>
>According to this site, the phrase was coined in America. Chopped liver is
>a side dish and never a main course, so the phrase is used to express hurt
>and amazement when someone feels overlooked, i.e., treated as a "side
>dish."