The New Joys of Yiddish: Completely Updated

I used to have an old 70s paperback of the original version of "The Joys of Yiddish", but I eventually got rid of it because I found it a bit too superficial in its coverage. Being a language nerd I wanted to come to grips with Yiddish as a real language, and not just be able to drop the odd word into my conversation.

So I was in a bookshop on my lunch hour and this revised edition was sitting on the shelf beckoning to me and smiling. I gave in. It wasn't the definitions that got me, nor was it the occasional softpedalling when it came to etymology. The late great Israeli dissident Israel Shahak observed that the entry on "shaygets", which Rosten says is of "Possible Hebrew origin", obscures the fact that it's certainly derived from the Hebrew word "sheqets", which is used in the Torah to refer to things that are unclean - which in turn means that "shaygets" has a nastier and murkier edge than Rosten was willing to admit. (However, Webster's New World Hebrew-English dictionary, which is explicitly about modern Hebrew, defines "sheygets" only as "1. non-Jewish youngster; 2. [slang] cheeky fellow or young Jew with a non-Jewish appearance", so perhaps the word has lost some of its sting over the centuries. Then again, my Pocket Ben-Yehuda Hebrew-English Dictionary, dating from 1951, defines "sheqets" as an "unclean animal". Go figure.)

Elsewhere, I am forced to quibble with Rosten's suggestion that "shamus", meaning a cop or detective, is derived from the Yiddish "shammes". "Shammes" is pronounced (according to Rosten) SHAH-mes, but "shamus" is pronounced SHAY-mus, exactly like the Irish name "Seamus", which Rosten mentions as a possible origin but appears not to agree with. Slang being an oral thing, I am inclined to agree with those who regard shamus-meaning-cop as being of Irish origin.

I for one applaud Lawrence Bush's commentary, which has the virtue of leaving Rosten's original text unchanged but adds much-needed historical perspective. I don't understand the complaint that it's ruined the book, because the book is still there (and secondhand copies of the original are not hard to find.)

No, the real pleasure of the book is Rosten's unparalleled collection of jokes. There may be more comprehensive anthologies of Jewish humour, but few of them can boast Rosten's impeccable comic timing. The book is worth the cover price for the jokes alone. My favourite one is about the two Israeli spies captured in Cairo. They are put up against the wall and the firing squad marches in. The Egyptian captain asks the first spy "Do you have any last requests?" The first spy says "A cigarette," and the captain gives him a cigarette, lights it and turns to the second one. "Do you have any last requests?" he asks, and the second spy spits in the captain's face. "Harry!" says the first spy, "please! Don't make trouble!"

If you want to learn about Yiddish, and why wouldn't you, there are plenty of excellent scholarly and popular works to consult. Dovid Katz's "Words on Fire" is an absorbing history of the language and his hard-to-find "Grammar of the Yiddish Language" is an essential resource. I am currently awaiting delivery of Uriel Weinreich's much-praised Yiddish-English/English-Yiddish dictionary. In the meantime, Bush has done a good job of updating and expanding Rosten's very entertaining book. It's not the best book on Yiddish, but it's probably the most popular one and with good reason.

I had purchased the first edition when it first came out, but over the years and many moves, it was lost. This updated version is just as good as the old, with revisions and commentary by Lawrence Bush. There are so many Yiddish words and phrases that just don't translate well (or at all) into English. So put your feet up, have a gless tea, and enjoy.

This book is hilarious! It is not a dictionary of Yiddish but a humorous collection of commonly used Yiddish words and saying with great jokes. A must for all Yiddish speakers and people amused by Yiddish words - especially Yiddish words and phrases that are now in common use all over the world. A great enrichment of language!

So much more than I expected.....I shall read it cover to cover.....with an English dictionary by my side......this man is very, very bright....I'm plunging into a whole new world.....I don't have the other two products, but would like to...can you inform as to availability and price......how did you know ???....Eerie.....am I that predictable ??.....T.T.

Those of us who grew up with Jewish grandparents who spoke Yiddish want to pass some of this beautiful, funny and slightly sardonic language on to children and grandchildren...this is the updated version of the original book. Loaded with folklore and wisdom for any ethnic group to enjoy. So glad it is still in print. I have not had time to compare to the original, was just glad I could get a copy.

Some stories are (perhaps) thousands of years old. Some jokes are as new and fresh as yesterday. Some sayings you may never have heard, but may well find yourself quoting from now on.

So much fun and informative

the book is full of Jewish humor and is greatly helping me as I re-learn and study Yiddish.

Friends love the book. I have had it for 30+ years. I buy these as gifts so they can understand things that I may happen to say to them. Helps them to understand a deli menu, as well.

Purchased for my son who at first balked at the size of the book but later admitted it was THE BEST!