Posted by Adam Shulman

Alright, it's clear I have to break it down Jew-style. Here's a quick
Pretty Fly for a Rabbi Yiddish tutorial:

    nudnick: a dork. Less severe than a schmuck
 
  shtick: a routine. Often ascribed to Jewish stand-up comedians in
the         Catskills
 
    Vay iz mir: Oh my god, a tragedy. An exclamation of sorrow and
surprise

    shmeer: Y'know, like a shmeer of creamcheese or something. but not
this new-school sundried tomato and spinach creamcheese, good ol'
fattening, unhealthy Jewish creamcheese

    Yarmulka: Jewish skullcap. like a beanie sans propellors

    goyim: non-Jews

    meshugga: Crazy

    sclemiel: uh...dork. y'know how Eskimoes have like 132 words for
snow. We have 132 words for dork. If you've ever met a Jew, you'll
understand the parallel

    Mazel Tov: Congratulations. Literally 'Good Luck'

    Macher: Hotshot know-it-all. Actually an insult, but I guess not in
this case

    tuchis: bootie, butt, derriere

    shul: synonym for synagogue but also for hebrew school

    What's not to like: a phrase often repeated by old Jewish women
regarding potential husbands for their daughters

    pastrami on white bread with mayonaisse: the ultimate Anti-Jewish
food

    Bar Mitzvah: You know, right? A Jewish coming-of-age ceremony held
at 13 years old

    Bris: Circumcision ceremony. There's food. There's always food at
Jewish events

    Chutzpah: Guts, gall. The classic example is the kid who murders
both his parents and then throws himself upon the mercy of the court as
an orphan

    moyl: The guy who performs the circumcision. Get it?

    Yenta: Jewish woman

    Shiksa: Non-Jewish woman

    Shalom: hebrew for Hello, Goodbye, and Peace

    Have some cake, you want some cake: A surprisingly acute observation
(for a goy) of Jewish speech patterns/food obsession

    Oy gevalt: Oh my god

    ferklempt: a word made up by Mike Myers as Linda Richmond, not a
real Yiddish word but defined as a state of high emotional agitation

    plotz: faint

    So this is for all of you that were confused as to the Yiddish words
in this song, what I consider as the best parody on the album. Of
course, I'm partial.

       And finally, as a Jew, of course one with a great sense of humor,
but regardless, I don't find this song at all offensive and I suspect
that few Jews will. Furthermore, I also suspect that those expressing
concern on this issue are non-Jews themselves, illustrating a tendency
we all have to be over-sensitive on others' behalf.

    And, just for the record, My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder rocks.
Just wanted to get that in :) But, as they say, I'm just kloppen kop on
vant with the paygeh  and the gonser knochers.
 

Hugs and Kisses But No Tongue,

Adam

 
Reply:
It actually IS a real Yiddish word, and shows up in a Yiddish/English
dictionary published in 1968.  Farklemt
(fay-alef-resh-koof-lamed-ayin-mem-tet) is defined therein as "depressed,
grieving".  It has been redefined by Myers as meaning emotionally
agitated, and will probably stay that way in the public mind.  (MAD
Magazine, in its comic book days, did the same thing with the word
"farshimmelt".  MAD used it to mean messed-up, as in "you gonna fall out
that window? Boy, will you be farshimmelt!"), but the word ACTUALLY means
"moldy"!)

-- 
shoshani@wwa.com        //    "Life is an art, not a science;
  Michael Shoshani     //   You make it up as you go along." -Al Hirschfeld
    Chicago IL, USA   //  http://www.wwa.com/~shoshani/