The Joys of Yinglish: An Exuberant Dictionary of Yiddish Words, Phrases, and Locutions ...

A mensh , Rosten ( The Joys of Yiddish ) is back with another hefty compendium of linguistic lore that's not chopped liver. By Yinglish , he means Yiddish words and phrases that are now part of the English language--or ought to be. Even a shlmiel would probably recognize such gems as schlock , maven , bagel , mazel tov and kibitz. Yet this marvelous dictionary, crammed with anecdotes, everyday conversations, jokes and historical snippets, is especially valuable in identifying English-language expressions colored by Yiddish, for instance: Eat your heart out! ; On her, it looks great ; What gives? ; Alright, already! Linguists will no doubt argue over whether certain locutions (e.g., get lost ) are truly Yiddish in origin, while entries such as Diaspora , cabala and B'nai Brith smack of padding. But why kvetch ? This treasury is a word-lover's inexhaustible delight, and not just for Yinglishmen (or -women) either. (Oct.)