Schmegoogle

Yiddish Words for Modern Times

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Pub Date 01 Sep 2020 | Archive Date 30 Sep 2020

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Description

Schmegoogle: n. : someone so insignificant that if you Google their name, nothing comes up.

Yiddish has long-enriched English language slang. In this fast-changing modern world experienced online and through apps, of foodies, legal weed, and shifting social constructs, our need for the expressive wonders of Yiddish has never been greater. This hilariously useful lexicon of neologisms captures the flavor of life as we live it today, covering subjects including technology, family, dating, anxiety, insults and more. Each of the more than 200 new terms rooted in real Yiddish, accompanied funny use-it-in-a-sentence examples and entertaining etymology. Bothered by that unanswered drift of e-mail piling up (e-chazerai), stuffed by food or worry (gifilted), feeling like the dating app sends in only clowns (a zhlub magnet)? Schmegoogle is here to help.


Not available for Kindle download.

Schmegoogle: n. : someone so insignificant that if you Google their name, nothing comes up.

Yiddish has long-enriched English language slang. In this fast-changing modern world experienced online and...


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781797207278
PRICE $14.95 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)

Average rating from 15 members


Featured Reviews

Wonderful, fun book

I loved this book. It’s funny and well-written. The entries are short and contain the original Yiddish words transliterated, along with an explanation of the new term. My only complaint is that the book was too short, because it was such a mekhaya (pleasure) to read. I leave it to author Daniel Klein to come up with a Yiddish word for the pleasure of reading e-books.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.

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Schmegeggie is a Yiddish word I’m familiar with,.Growing up in Brooklyn I was surrounded by Yiddish speakers.The idea of modernizing old Yiddish to modern times was hysterical.Will be giving this hilarious book as a gift.#netgalley#chroniclebooks

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A laugh out loud Modern dictionary for updated Yiddish terms. A few of the entries made me groan, some made me smile, and some made me immediately call my mother to relay them. Wonderfully done, with inclusion isn’t language and the same old chutzpah Yiddish always gives.

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YES! This was a MUCH NEEDED READ! It’s funny, it’s true, it’s hyperbolic and ridiculous and it was perfect...except TRANSLITERATIONS would be very helpful. A lot of people will be trying to say these words and it’ll be terrible for those of us who know the origin words but can’t stand the original language seemingly slaughtered. This isn’t slaughter to Yiddish. It really is a great rebirth of it for a new generation. In a Jewish world where community is a cornerstone that seems to be cracking under the isolated tendencies of newer jewneractions (not to be stolen without credit to me haha), Yiddish needs a little push in a fun out of Temple or Bubbe’s house way. Purimspieler’s Revenge was an early and long-lasting favorite!

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Shmegoogle is a fun look at the ways in which Yiddish can be adapted to address new technological, social, and political realities. Klein compiles a new wave of these Yiddish words to use in this funny and sometimes absurd (Baruch a-toke) book.

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So funny I plotzed. Daniel Klein does a wonderful job updating an ancient language for today. A delightful , humorous read with just enough history of language to connect the new words with the old.

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Schmegoogle: Yiddish Words for Modern Times
by Daniel Klein
Pub Date 01 Sep 2020
read courtesy of http://netgalley.com

You had me at schmegoogle! Go ahead. Google your Cousin Hershel. Nothing comes up? He's a schmegoogle. Also, you'd better be a good tipper when your Uber driver is uber menschlich! Do you think we could get all of our click bait to instead be called bubbe maiseh-trap? And they're just from chapter 1!

It's more like reading a joke book than a dictionary, but either way, it's funny! Included are both old, i.e., used elsewhere and included here, and new phrases. Besides word entries with definitions, examples, and word origins, Klein includes stand alone asides that are mini comic sets in themselves. (I loved "The Roth Conundrum" on page 45.)

One thing it's missing is the pronunciation cues. The goyim might not get the references to something they might actually have heard if they don't recognize the word. Even phonetic clues would be helpful.

I hope you enjoy this review. I'd hate to think I'd done a good job only gifilted with schmortification. At least I'm not a phudnik.

This book would make a fun gift for any alte kakers you know.

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Very funny and thoughtfully written book. I actually learned a lot of new Yiddish words by reading this, which is absolutely an added bonus. The wordplays used by the author are smart, witty, and made me laugh out loud quite a few times, and that's a rarity! I enjoyed the fact that a lot of Yiddish words were elaborated underneath the made-up words, as well as the fact additional information was given about the language and culture behind the words. I doubt I will read this book more than once, but it makes an excellent gift!

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