Drek!: The Real Yiddish Your Bubbe Never Taught You - Paperback

by Yetta Emmes (Author), Kim Wilson Brandt (Illustrator)

One doesn't have to be Jewish to recognize the words that have made their way into every fold of popular language: Chutzpah, Mensch, Tokhes, Mishmash, Nudge, Shtick, Schmaltzy, Schlep, Icky, and so on. Then there are phrases whose meaning and syntax are borrowed from Yiddish: "bite your tongue", "drop dead", "enough already", and "excuse the expression". This hilarious, concise guide includes chapters on the Basic Descriptions of People (the good, the bad, the ugly, and the goofy), the Fine Art of Cursing, Juicy Words and Phrases, Exclamations and Exasperations, and the Fine Art of Blessing.

Author Biography

Yetta Emmes is a pseudonym for Eva Mekler, the author of, most recently, the novel Sunrise Shows Late. Mekler is also the author of nonfiction books on theater and psychology, including Contemporary Scenes For Student Actors, The New Generation Of Acting Teachers, and Bringing up a Moral Child. She resides in New York City.