Yiddish in UK English (anecdotal)

[Mark Mandel]

>From an English friend, commenting on a post which used the word "kvetch"
(Yiddish for 'complain, gripe'):

'Kvetch' is one of several Yiddish words which have made their way into
> English ('kibitz' and 'schmuck' are others I can think of which I hear quite
> often). I suspect from the British Jewish communities (especially the east
> end of London) as well as imported via American, I certainly heard 'schmuck'
> and 'kvetch' when I was at school before we had very much American cultural
> influence in the British media. Confusingly, 'schmuck' in German means
> decoration or jewellry (also 'pretty' and 'smart' (as in dress, not
> intelligence!)), I got very confused when I saw signs saying "Juwelier und
> Schmuck"!


m a m

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