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This Yiddish Word Is Good for My Mental Health and Bad for My Bank Account

JL;DR SUMMARY Lior Zaltzman shares a playful exploration of the Yiddish word "tchotchke," which describes decorative trinkets that spark joy despite their lack of practical function. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

YiddishHebrewJoyCultureLanguageMinimalismDecorTchotchkeTrinketsCollectibles

Places mentioned

Israel
"In Israel, where I grew up, the word tchatchke is not used for bric-a-brac, but mostly as a now-rarely used derogatory term for a fast and young lady or sometimes for an easy young man."

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Cairo Item ID 58772
Cairo Source ID 33
Retrieved 2025-08-07 05:31:03 UTC
Curated 2025-08-07 08:31:43 UTC