Summer Programs

Don't Be Farblondzet

The following programs enhance the Let There Be Laughter exhibit this summer:

et There Be Laughter.lJewish Humor in America curators Jack Kugelmass
and Esther Romeyn describe Jewish "types," which are vehicles for humor
in contemporary television and film.
The following words are taken from the curators' "Glossary of Yiddish
Words" to explain these types and the phrases they utter. Many of these words
have entered into our everyday vernacular:

Who Laughs at Jewish Jokes?
2 p.m. Sunday, June 22

ANNIE RICE'S SECT OF HOW TO KEEP SMILING

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COMPLETE
COAST-TO-COAST
PROGRAM LISTINGS

Dr. Sander L. Gilman, Henry
Luce professor of the liberal arts in
human biology at the University of
Chicago, examines some 19th- and
20th-century Jewish jokes and their
audiences.

Jewish Humor in Focus:
Electric Blanket
2 and 6 p.m. Sunday, July 27
Film Center of the School of the Art
Institute
The dark comedy captures an Is-
raeli trend toward savage satire and
cynicism.

Video Series/Seminar:
The Outside Chance of Max-
imillian Glick
1-3 p.m. Wednesday, July 23
After viewing the film about a
Canadian boy and his rabbi, the au-
dience will be led in discussion by
Marshall Wolke, continuing educa-
tion consultant at Spertus.

PHOTO CO URTESY OF PETER H. SCHWEITZER COLLECTION

Television Episodes of
`The Goldbergs"
1-3 p.m. Wednesday,
Aug. 13
Three episodes from
the 1950s TV series
will be shown.

Top: Fanny Brice as "Baby Snooks" on the cover of Radio Stars
magazine from 1938.

Above: Gene Wilder in the film The Frisco Kid (1979).

Right: The sheet music from "Yonkle, the Cow-boy Jew" (1907).

L

Bubbeleh — Term of endearment for darling, sweetie, honey
Cochem —A person whose purported intelligence produces dumb results
Chozzerai — Junk, trash, worthless
Chutzpa —Audacity, gag brazen nerve
Farblondzet — Confused, bewildered, lost
Fress — To overeat, stuff oneself
Gelt —.Money
Gevalt —A ay offear, astonishment, amazement
Ganif — Thief
Goy — Hebrew for "nation." Used to describe anyone who is not a Jew
Heimish — Informal, cozy, warm, homey, unpretentious
Kinder --- Children
Klutz —A clod
Kop —Head
Kvetch — To complain, fret, gripe
Macher —Big wheel, operator
Mentsch —A good guy
Meshugga — Crazy, nuts, wacky
Maven —Expert
Mishegas —A zany, irrational, absurd belief
Mishmash — Mix-up or mixture
Mishpachah —Family, including relatives far, near, remote and numerous
Naches — Feeling of pride with delight
Narishkayt — Silliness, foolishness, a waste of tune
Noodge — Nag
Noodnik —A pest or bore
Nu — Most frequently used word in Yiddish after "Oy"; an interrogative, in-
terjection or expletive
Oy —An entire vocabulary — a lament, a protest, a sigh, a cry of dismay or
delight
Plotz — To be frustrated or aggravat-
ed; or a state of embarrassment
Schnapps — Intoxicating spirits
Seykul— Understanding, native good
sense, judgment
Shonda — Situation that causes em-
barrassment or shame
Shiker —A drunk
Shlemiel —A nerd, jerk, someone who
can't seem to do anything right
Shlemazzel —Person whose luck is
consistently bad, a born loser
Shlep — To drag or pull or lag behind
someone who is lazy, inefficient
Schlock—A shoddy, cheaply made ar-
ticle
Shmaltz -- Over the top, corny, exces-
sive sentimentality
Shmateh —A "rag," clothing; a gar-
ment manufacturer is in the shrnateh busi-
ness
Shmo —Not Yiddish, but a neoligism
for a hapless, unlucky jerk
Shmooze Friendly, gossipy, heart-
to-heart talk
Schnorrer —A moocher, a cheapskate,
a compulsive bargain hunter
Shtick —A "thing," as in 'That's their
shtick"
Tsuris — Trouble, woes
Tumel— To create a commotion or dis-
order
Yenta —A gossipy woman, rumor mon-
ger
Yiddishe kop — One who can be counted on to do clever things
Zaftig —Plump, buxom, well-rounded