Words English took from Yiddish

1. 1
   kvetch/kvetʃ/

   verb

   To complain, often at length and about small things.
2. 2
   schmooze/ʃmuːz/

   verb

   To chat in an easy, friendly way with someone.
3. 3
   nudge/nʌdʒ/

   verb

   To keep gently pestering someone until they act.
4. 4
   chutzpah/ˈtʃʌtˌspɑː/iAlso said ˈhʊtˌspɑː.

   noun

   Nerve so bold it's almost shocking.
5. 5
   klutz/klʌts/

   noun

   A clumsy person who is always dropping or knocking things over.
6. 6
   spiel/spiːl/

   noun

   A smooth, well-practiced talk meant to sell you something.
7. 7
   shtick/ʃtɪk/

   noun

   A bit a performer repeats again and again to pull attention their way.
8. 8
   mensch/menʃ/

   noun

   A decent, reliable person who does the right thing.
9. 9
   bagel/ˈbeɪɡəl/

   noun

   A chewy ring-shaped bread roll with a hard crust.
10. 10
    zaftig/ˈzæftɪɡ/

    adjective

    Pleasantly full-figured and healthy-looking, said of a woman.

The sentences

1. He's going to kvetch about the line for hours.

2. She loves to schmooze with everyone behind the counter.

3. I had to nudge him twice to place the order.

4. It takes real chutzpah to cut in like that.

5. I'm such a klutz, I dropped my coffee again.

6. The guy behind the counter launched into his sales spiel.

7. That whole shtick of his gets old pretty fast.

8. He's a real mensch, he saved us a table.

9. Could I get a bagel with cream cheese, please?

10. My grandmother was zaftig and proud of every curve.

Pronunciation

• kvetch/kvetʃ/

  The k and the v both sound, run together at the start.

• chutzpah/ˈtʃʌtˌspɑː/

  Stress falls on the first syllable, which starts with the ch of chat; the ending is "pah", not "puh".

• spiel/spiːl/

  Rhymes with peel; there is no "spy" sound in it.

• shtick/ʃtɪk/

  Opens with the sh sound, not a plain s.

• zaftig/ˈzæftɪɡ/

  Stress the first syllable, and its vowel is the a of cat.

Questions

What do you call someone who complains a lot?

You'd call them a kvetch, or say they kvetch.

What does chutzpah mean?

Nerve so bold it's almost shocking.

What's a good word for a clumsy person?

Klutz, someone who's always dropping or knocking things over.