Yiddish words and phrases used by English speakers

This is a list of words and phrases used by speakers whose English has been heavily influenced by Yiddish, especially speakers of Yinglish. Unlike most of the words in the list of English words of Yiddish origin, these words have not been assimilated into English and are unlikely to be understood by English speakers who do not have substantial Yiddish influence. Leo Rosten's book, The Joys of Yiddish, explains these words (and many more) in detail.

A shande - a disgrace; one who brings embarrassment through mere association (cognate with the German word Schande, meaning "disgrace")
"A shande far di goyim" - "A shame in front of the goyim," the scathing criticism of Judge Julius Hoffman by Abbie Hoffman during the trial of the Chicago Eight
Ay-ay-ay (sometimes spelled "ai-yi-yi") (אײַ־אײַ־אײַ)
Abi gezunt! - "As long as you're healthy!"; often used as an ironic punchline to a joke (abi, cf. Polish aby = "so that"; gezunt cognate with German gesund, "healthy")
Aleichem sholem - "To you be peace" (the polite response to a greeting of "Sholem Aleichem")
Alter kacker (or alter kocker) - a lecherous old man; an old fart (from German Alter "old" and kacker "crapper")
Bisel - a small amount, "a pinch of" something (cf. German bissel, a dialectal variant of the more standard bisschen, "a little bit")
Bubby - grandmother; pronounced like "book", not like the Southern U.S. nickname (cf. the Slavonic baba, "old woman" with different overtones in different languages)
Bubbameisse - Old wives' tale
Bubkes (also spelled "bupkis") - nothing, as in He isn't worth bubkes (from Yiddish bopkes 'little beans')
Chazarai - junk, garbage, junk food (in Yiddish, khazerai 'filth', from khazer 'pig')
Chutzpah - ballsiness, guts, daring, audacity
Easy E - notorious rap musician of the 1990's who often expressed his frustration with urban life with yiddish expressions.
Ess - to eat, especially used in the imperative: Ess! Ess! (German essen, "to eat")
Farbissen (far-BISS-en) adj. Bitter; sullen; crippled by bitterness. Also farbissener. (cf. German verbissen)
Farblondzhet - lost, bewildered, confused, mixed-up (appropriately, there are several variant spellings) (far- cf. German ver- and Polish błądzić = "to stray around")
Farkakte - (an adjective whose usage resembles English goddamn; literally, 'shitty', cf. German "verkackte(r)")
Feygele - homosexual (literally 'little bird', cf. German "Vögele")
Fress - to eat, especially with enthusiasm (German fressen = "to eat like an animal, in an untidy way")
Gantze - all, the whole of ("the gantze mishpoche" = the whole family, etc., cf. German ganz = "whole, all")
Gelt - money (German Geld with the same meaning)
Genug (גענוג) - enough (German genug)
Glick - a piece of good luck (German Glück)
Gonef (also ganiv) - thief (גנבֿ ganef. Like the Romanian curve, this can be used as a somewhat generic insult, implying a "lowlife" ) - the word has also been adopted from Yiddish into German as Ganove
Gornisht - nothing, not a bit, for naught (German gar nicht = not at all)
Goy - Gentile (גוי, plural גוים goyim, Hebrew 'nation(s)', often referring to nations other than Israel, although the Tanach calls Israel the "goy koddesh", "the Holy Nation", so Israel is also a 'goy' ["nation" in the sense of "a people", not "a state"] ) "John Gross is on jdate but he is so goy."
Goyisher kop - foolishness (lit. "Gentile head")
Hock - Bother, pester (as in the character Maj Hockstetter from Hogan's Heroes; a hockstetter being someone who constantly bothers you) [from Hak mir kayn chaynik or "Clanking like a teakettle" from the old time pre-whistle teakettles whose tops clank against the rim as the pressure pushed them up and down.
Heymish (also hamish) - home-like, friendly, folksy (German heimisch)
Ipish - a bad odor
Kadoches - a fever; frequently occurs in oaths of ill-will (e.g., "I'll give him a kadoches is what I'll give him!)
Keyn aynhoreh - lit., "No evil eye!" spoken to avert a curse after something or someone has been praised; the phrase has mutated into "Don't give me a canary!" in the Bronx
Klop - a loud bang or wallop
Krankhayt - a sickness (German Krankheit)
Kvell (קװעל) - beam/ be proud
Kvetch - to complain habitually, gripe; or, a person who always complains
La chaim - an expression of joy, usually made while watching or listening to ELO.
Litvak - a Jew of Lithuanian ancestry
Macher (מאַכער) - lit. "doer, someone who does things", big shot, important person (e.g. within an organization) (German Macher = maker)
Mamish - really, very (an expression of emphasis)
Mazel (מזל mazl) - luck (literally, constellation of stars)
Mazel tov! (מזל־טובֿ!‏ mazl tov) - congratulations! (literally, 'good constellation' from Hebrew, meaning, May you be born under a good star, or at a good time. When you tell someone Mazel Tov, it is customary to shake hands.)
Megillah - a lengthy document or discourse (from Yiddish מגילה megile, from Hebrew 'scroll')
Mensch - an upright man; a decent human being (from Yiddish מענטש mentsh 'person') (German Mensch "human being")
Mechuteynestn - the mothers of the bride and groom
Meshugge (משוגען meşugn) - crazy
Mishegoss - insane situation, irrationality (from Yiddish meshugas, from meshuge 'crazy')
Mishpoche - family (from Yiddish משפּחה mishpokhe)
Mohel - a professional religious circumciser (from Hebrew מוהל)
Nachas (נחת) - pride (usage: I have nachas from you)
Nasheray - snack food (German naschen - to snack, cf. German "Nascherei")

Nu - multipurpose interjection often analogous to "well?" or "so?"; of the same linguistic origin as English now
Nudnik (נודניק) - pest, "pain in the neck", originally from Polish ("nuda" in Polish means "boredom"; nudziarz is the Polish word for the Yiddish nudnik)
Oy vey (אױ װײ) - (Oh no! -- literally, 'Oh, pain!', cf. German "Oh Weh!").
Oy gevalt (אױ גװאַלד) - Oh no! (from Yiddish gvald 'emergency'). Cognate with German Gewalt "force, violence".
Pisher - a male infant; a little squirt; a nobody , (cf. South German "Pisch´n" = to piss)
Plotz - to burst, as from strong emotion: "I was so angry, I thought I'd plotz!" (from Yiddish פּלאַצן platsn 'to crack', cf. German platzen)
Punim - the face (Yiddish ponem, from Hebrew)
Pupik - the navel; belly button
Putz - unclean penis; stupid 'dirty' person (from Yiddish פּאָץ pots)
Sheygetz (שגץ، שײגעץ) - Gentile male (plural שקצים shkotsim)
Shabbes goy - a Gentile who performs labour forbidden on the Sabbath for observant Jews; sometimes used (by implication) for someone who "does the dirty work" for another person (from Yiddish Shabbes, Sabbath + goy, a non-Jew)
Sheyne meydel - a beautiful girl (cf. German schönes Mädel)
Shiksa (שיקסע) - a Gentile woman, generally used derisively (the origin is much more offensive, meaning abomination)
Shlemiel - an inept, clumsy person
Shlimazl - unlucky person (שלימזל shlimazl, from shlim 'bad' and mazl 'luck'). The difference between a shlemiel and a shlimazl is described through the aphorism, "A shlemiel is somebody who often spills his soup; a shlimazl is the person the soup lands on." One of the ten non-English words that were voted Words hardest to translate in June 2004 by a British translation company
Shmatte - an old rag. Used literally: I spilled the coffee, bring me a shmatte, quick! Used figuratively (usu. derisively): That fancy dress she spent half her husband's money on just looked like a shmatte to me. (Cf. Polish szmata "rag, piece of cloth")
Shmegegge - nonsense, also idiot.
Shmendrik - ineffectual person
Schmooze - To small talk or chat. Can also be a form of brown-noseing.
Schmuck - a contemptible or foolish person; a jerk; literally means 'penis' (taken from Yiddish shmok 'penis')
Shmutz - dirt (German Schmutz)
Schnorrer (שנאָרער) - beggar or person always asking others for hand-outs or services
Shpilkes - upset stomach, or simply nervous energy (like before an interview)
Shtark, shtarker -- strong, brave (German stark)
Shtum - quiet (שטום shtum 'mute') (German stumm)
Shtup - to have sex, screw (from Yiddish שטופּן shtupn 'push, poke')
Shvartzer (שװאַרצער) - Black person (derog.) (from שװאַרץ shvarts 'black', German schwarz
Shvitz - A steam bath (German Schwitzen = to sweat). Also used for sweat or some kind of dirt/filth.
Tochis - rear end (from Yiddish תּחת tokhes)
Tornig - a disobedient nephew
Traif (or trayf) - forbidden, non-Kosher foods; anything forbidden (from Exodus 22:30, technically referring to an animal with any of a specific group of physical defects making it inedible)
Tsaddik - Pious, righteous person; one of the 36 legendary saints for whose sake God does not destroy the world
Tsuris - troubles (from Yiddish צרות tsores)
Verklempt - choked with emotion (German verklemmt = emotionally inhibited in a convulsive way)
Yenta - a talkative woman; a gossip; a blabbermouth; a scold
Yichus - pedigree, family background
Yiddisher kop - intelligence (lit. "Jewish head")
Yiddisher Mama - a stereotypical Jewish mother
Yiddisher mazel - bad luck (lit. "Jewish luck")
Yontiff - a Jewish holiday on which work is forbidden, eg. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Pesach (from the Hebrew "Yom Tov", Good Day, or Holiday)
Zaydeh (or zayde) - grandfather (possibly a Slavonic word, cf. Polish dziadek, meaning "grandfather")
Zaftig - plump, chubby, full-figured (German saftig)