Friday, October 10, 2003

HOW DO YOU SAY "IRISH" in Scots Yiddish? According to Philologos, it involves the Hebrew word for testicles. Really.

UPDATE (11 October): Okay, to speak more precisely, the basic meaning of the Hebrew word is "egg," but it has the extended colloquial meaning of "testicle." The meaning "testicle" is the basic meaning of the word when borrowed into Yiddish (according to Philologos: I don't know Yiddish myself), but the Yiddish pun presupposes the basic Hebrew meaning "egg." Got all that? If not, just read the essay: it's entertaining.

I know this doesn't have anything to do with ancient Judaism, but how often to I get to blog on Scots Yiddish?

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