Friday word: Aroysgevorfen

[med_cat]

Aroysgevorfen, adj.: thrown out

Pronounced ah-ROYCE-ge-vor-fen, the royce rhyming with "choice", the vorfen with "orphan". Yiddish, from German.

This simple adjective carries a cargo of regret, for it means "wasted", and Jews are not second to New Englanders in their disapproval of wastefulness; aroysgevorfen is applied not only to material things.

My mother would often end a lecture ot me with the dour lament that her words were probably in vain: "Aroysgevorfeneh verter (thrown out words)!" Was ever a phrase more heartfelt?

(from Leo Rosten's The Joys of Yiddish)

Comments

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Oooh, that would come in useful.... :)

[med_cat]

Glad you think so! I love Leo Rosten :)

There was a bit more to the entry--I'll type it here, I think you might enjoy:

~~
Aroysgevorfeneh yoren (years), enunciated with a sigh deep from the diaphragm, or with bitterness, refers to the wasted years that can never be relived. Jewish women are, by tradition, prone to lament their lot with this phrase.

Aroysgevorfeneh gelt (money), describes a useless purchase, an investment that did not prove fruitful, or (as in the story below) a gesture that went awry.

Benny and Moe wanted to give their mother a new and different birthday present. They went from shop to shop until, to their wonder and delight, they found--a parrot that spoke Yiddish! This astonishing bird cost $500, but the devoted sons decided it was worth it. Think of the hours and hours of pleasure their old-fashioned mother would derive from conversing with the extraordinary parrot; and think of the admiration the bird would elicit among Mamma's friends in the sisterhood!

So the sons bought a beautiful gilded cage, and placed the parrot inside, and had the singular birthday gift delivered to Mamma.

Then, in great excitement , they telephoned: "Mamma, mamma, how did you like your present?"

"Delicious!" said Mamma.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That's such a fun little snippet...

[med_cat]

It's a very fun book! I whole-heartedly recommend it (the original, 1960s-70s edition, not the updated/revised one)

Glad you enjoyed!