Tanz

dance The word טאַנץ (tanz) is Yiddish for dance, cognate to the German word Tanz with the same meaning.

: a language that began among the Jews of eastern Europe and is based on German and written in the Hebrew alphabet. Yiddish adjective. Etymology. from Yiddish yidish, a shortened form of yidish daytsh, literally "Jewish German (language)," derived from early German jüdisch "Jewish" and diutsch "the German language"

bedbug There's a Yiddish word Vontz which literally means bedbug.

The term "Yiddish" is derived from the German word for "Jewish." The most accepted (but not the only) theory of the origin of Yiddish is that it began to take shape by the 10th century as Jews from France and Italy migrated to the German Rhine Valley.

Yiddish language, one of the many Germanic languages that form a branch of the Indo-European language family. Yiddish is the language of the Ashkenazim, central and eastern European Jews and their descendants.

*In Yiddish, a bedbug is called a "vantz." Robert Hendrickson ("New Yawk Tawk - A Dictionary of New York City Expressions") defines "bedbug" as follows: A crazy person; someone who acts crazy. Often used in the old expression, crazy as a bedbug," after the bedbug's frantic running around in all directions when exposed.

Schmuck is a surname of German origin. As a noun, it means jewelry; as an adjective, it means neat in the sense of clean, tidy, or having a simple elegance. The name is commonly seen on signs and billboards in Germany and Austria related to the merchandising of precious jewelry.

Traditional religious Jewish communities, mostly in Israel, and North and South America, but also in Europe, still use Yiddish and contribute to Yiddish culture.

Only certain Ultra Orthodox (Haredi) Jews speak Yiddish for everyday purposes. These belong to certain Hasidic sects of Ashkenazi origin. Their reason for doing so is because they believe the holy language of prayer (Hebrew) should not be used for everyday purposes.

Yiddish was the language spoken by the largest number of Jews in the 1850s, but today the three most commonly spoken languages among Jews are English, modern Hebrew, and Russian - in that order.

Nudnik - (Nudge) One who nauseates, who makes others uncomfortable. Paskudnyak - (Y: disgusting) A cruel person, one who enjoys making others suffer. This is the harshest of all Yiddish insults.

Although schmuck is considered an obscene term in Yiddish, it has become a common American idiom for "jerk" or "idiot". It can be taken as offensive, however, by some Jews, particularly those with strong Yiddish roots.