Friday, June 8, 2007

You don't have to be Jewish.

Yiddish for ad people.
ALTER COCKER: An old and complaining person, an old fart. “If you don’t pay attention to the Crispins of the world, you become an alter cocker.”
BISSEL, BISSELA: A little. “Your type looks like crap, kern it a bissel.”
BUPKES: Nothing. Or something worthless or absurd. “Three hours I spent in that brainstorming and I got bupkes out of it.”
CHAZEREI: Something awful, junk or garbage. “That brief was nothing but chazerei.”
CHUTZPAH: Nerve; gall, as in a person who kills her parents and asks for mercy because she is an orphan. “The account people have a lot of chutzpah bringing that chazerei they call a brief to the meeting.”
DRECK: Shit. Can refer to the ugliness of objects or people. “Dreck in, dreck out.”
FERBLUNJIT: Lost, mixed up. “The brief was dreck so I’m feeling ferblunjit.”
FERCOCKT: All fucked up. “This is fercockt. We got briefed yesterday and the meeting is tomorrow.”
FERMISHT: All shook up, as in an acute disturbance. “What a lousy meeting we just had. I’m all fermisht.”
FERSHTINKINER: A stinker, a louse. “The fershtinkiner account people drive me up the fershtinker wall.”
GAVALT: A cry of fear or a cry for help. Oy Gevalt is often used as expression meaning "oh how terrible."
GAY AVEK: Go away, get out of here. “Until you sell some work, gay avek.”
GELT: Money. “They don’t pay me enough gelt to do this dreck.”
GONIF: A thief, a tricky clever person, a shady character. In new business, sometimes a gonif or two can be invaluable.
HOK A CHAINIK: To talk too much, to talk nonsense. “A 158-page deck? Those Account people hok a chainik.”
KISHKA: Intestines, belly. To hit someone in the "kishka" means to hit him in the stomach or guts. “When I see a good ad, I know it in my kishkes.”
KVETCH: To annoy or to be an annoying person, to complain. “I wish he would stop kvetching and get down to work.”
LOCH IN KOP: Literally a hole in the head, refers to things one definitely does not need. “Ferstinkiner clients like them I need like a loch in kop.”
MACH SHNEL: Hurry up.
MACHER: An ambitious person; a schemer with many plans. “That new Account Woman is a real macher. She gets things done.”
MAVEN: An expert, a connoisseur. “He never did an ad in his life and he acts like a maven.”
MAZEL TOV: Good luck, usually said as a statement of support or congratulations. “You sold a new campaign? Mazel tov!”
MEGILLAH: Long, complicated and boring. “Don’t make such a megillah out of it—just give me the top-line.”
MENSCH: A person of character. An individual of recognized worth because of noble values or actions. “I’m lucky to be in her group, she’s a real mensch.”
MESHUGGE or MESHUGGINA: Crazy, refers to a more chronic disturbance. “Those Account People are driving me meshugge.”
MISHEGOSS: Inappropriate, crazy, or bizarre actions or beliefs. “What is all this mishegoss, I just want to do my work.”
NEBBISH: An inadequate person, a loser. “He tries, but when you get right down to it, he’s a nebbish.”
NOODGE: To bother, to push, a person who bothers you. “He’s such a noodge, I star-dee his calls.”
OY VEY: "Oh, how terrible things are". OH VEZ MEAR means "Oh, woe is me".
PISHER: A bed-wetter, a young inexperienced person, a person of no consequence. “I’ve got 25-years experience and no little pisher is going to tell me what to do.”
PUTZ: A vulgarism for penis but most usually used as term of contempt for a fool, or an easy mark.
SCHLOCK: A shoddy, cheaply made article, something that’s been knocked around.
SCHMALTZ: Literally chicken fat. Usually refers to overly emotional and sentimental behavior. “Oy, the ad is so schmaltzy.”
SCHMUCK: A vulgarism for penis, strong putdown for a jerk, a detestable person.
SHLEP: To carry or to move about. Can refer to a person, a "shlepper," who is unkempt and has no ambition.
SHMEGEGGE: A petty person, an untalented person.
SHMOOZ: To hang out with, a friendly gossipy talk. “Come over to my cube so we can shmooz.”
TCHOTCHKA: An inexpensive trinket, a toy.
TSIMMES: A side dish, a prolonged procedure, an involved and troubling business, as in the phrase, "don't make a tsimmes out of it."
TSORISS: Suffering, woes. “These hurricanes are causing real tsoriss.
VER CLEMPT
: All choked up.

2 comments:

  1. Gentiles everywhere, not just in Ad Land, can use this translation guide. Thank you, my friend, for inviting us in.

    ReplyDelete
  2. FERSHTINKINER remains my favorite of all time.

    ReplyDelete