View Message

As we say here in the South, "Leben ahf dein kop!"

---

@@@@ As we say here in the North, "Aw, shucks! T'weren't nuthin'!"

---

And judging by the tone of Fein's list, these were not an "up", bubbly group of people, were they? Guess life in the shtetl does that.

---

@@@@ You need to try Leo Rosten's book, *The Joys of Yiddish*. Sadly, Leo Rosten is no longer with us, having passed away a few years ago. But his wonderful wit and sense of humor live on in his writing. His lexicon of Yiddish words not only provides English definitions, but also includes humorous little anecdotes associated with each word. For example, here's the entry from *The Joys of Yiddish* for the expression, "shlock-house":

---

Shlock-house: A store that sells cheap, distressed, defective, "fire sale" articles. A gyp joint.

---

The customer asked the tobacconist to recommend a good cigar.

---

"Here's the best cigar in the place. Fifty cents."

---

The customer paid, lighted up and began to cough and choke. "I asked for a good cigar and you give me *this*?" he cried.

---

The owner sighed, "What a lucky man you are."

---

"*Lucky*?" cried the customer. "Are you mad?"

---

"You own only one of those shlock-house cigars; I must have twenty dozen!"

---

-- Nanaea
Thought you'd especially like that one, Che. ;)