If You Can't Say Anything Nice, Say It in Yiddish

Lita Epstein offers a crash course in one of the most colorful languages ever spoken in this gorgeously repackaged edition of If You Can’t Say Anything Nice, Say it in Yiddish. Taking the reader through the history and idioms of the language, this humorous guide is the perfect addition to any library, both Jewish and Gentile.You don’t have to be Jewish to get back at the shmendriks* of the worldYiddish. It’s the most colorful language in the history of mankind. What other language gives you a whole dictionary of ways to tell someone to drop dead? That schmuck who got promoted over you? Meigulgl zol er vern in a henglaykhter, by tog zol er hengen, un by nakht zol er brenen. (He should be transformed into a chandelier, to hang by day and to burn by night.) That soccer mom kibitzing on her cell phone and tying up traffic? Shteyner zol zi hobn, nit keyn kinder. (She should have stones and not children.)If You Can’t Say Anything Nice, Say It in Yiddish is the perfect glossary of Yiddish insults and curses, from the short and sweet to the whole megillah (Khasene hobn zol er mit di malekh hamoves tokhter: He should marry the daughter of the Angel of Death.) Complete with hundreds of the most creative insults for the putzes** and kvetchers *** of the world, this is an indispensable guide for Jews and Gentiles alike. When it comes to cursing someone who sorely needs it, may you never be at a loss for words again.*IdiotsMore idiots*Complainer; a pain in the tuchas******** One’s rear end