[Mendele] Mendele Vol. 18.015

[Victor Bers]

Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
____________________________________________________

Contents of Vol. 18.015
December 23, 2008

1) Leonard Prager z'l (Leybl Botwinik)
2) pogrom? (Sonia Kovitz)
3) terminology for female genitalia (Bracha Weingrod)
4) terminology for female genitalia (Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett)
5) paskrevits (Veronica Belling)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: December 14, 2008
Subject: Leonard Prager z'l

A shod, a shod.
Er iz geven a guter mentsh un a guter yid.
Koved zayn ondenk.

Leybl Botwinik

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date:  December 10, 2008
Subject: pogrom?

_Pogrom_ is of course a Slavic-based word. In a Yiddish text written in
1945 by a proponent of the phonetic spelling of Hebrew words that occur in
Yiddish, I found the following strange word_pardes_: peh - aleph - resh -
vov - ayin - samekh. Yes, the vov is very odd here for "o" but I've found
that the writer is not always consistent re: phonetic Hebrew spelling. The
context is _pardes_, shkhites_ un _harges_: pogroms (?), extortions and
murders. Neither Weinreich nor Harkavy were of help so I went to the Hebrew
dictionary and found the following plural form meaning pogrom: peh - resh -
ayin - vov - sof. What do you think, did I figure this out correctly?

a dank!
Sonia Kovitz

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date:  December 16, 2008
Subject: terminology for female genitalia

My mother would always shout upstairs to us (girls) whenever we were taking
a bath, "Fargest nisht oystsuvashn di gantse mayse;" which became the
euphemism for our "private parts." This expression has been handed down to
all our daughters. So imagine the surprise when my eldest daughter
overheard her kibbutz  "father" on the phone to someone saying "Nakhon,
bevaday, hu lakakh et di gantse mayse," referring to some matter of
business. She rushed out of the room red-faced, and only later was I able
to reassure her.

Bracha Weingrod

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: December 18, 2008
Subject: terminology for female genitalia

Mayer Kirshenblatt, born 1916 in Opatow (Apt), Poland, reports the
following. (1) kote, from the Polish kot (cat), meaning pussy; (2) = shpalt
(crack); (3) shmoysh for a woman, shmoysl for a girl. These terms were
never used in his home or heard from his parents, but only among his
friends. He recalls a girl who, experiencing genital pain, referred to her
shmoysl. For more of Mayer's memories, check out "They Called Me Mayer
July: Painted Memories of a Jewish Childhood in Poland before the
Holocaust." http://www.mayerjuly.com.

Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett

5)----------------------------------------------------
Date: December 19, 2008
Subject: paskrevits

I am looking for the meaning of the word "paskrevits." It crops up in a
satirical column in a South African Yiddish newspaper in 1912 that I am
currently translating. I presume that it must be of Russian origin. Below
is the context:

"Who would ever have dreamt that Harris the Peddler would become famous all
over Africa, and that his name would appear in print, in a newspaper. It is
clear that I am no paskrevits and no messenger from the heavenly hosts."

I would really appreciate some help.

With thanks,
Veronica Belling

______________________________________________________
End of Mendele Vol. 18.015

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