The joys of Yiddish

Do you know the origin of “chutzpa,” “mishmosh,” “fin,” “bubeleh,” “megillah,” “shammes,” “cockamamy,” “kineahora”? Do you know when to cry “Mazel tov”-and when to avoid it like the plague? Do you know where Yiddish began and how it grew? Have you ever entered the remarkable world of the “shtetl”? Here is a book to be read and laughed over, no less than consulted – a contribution to linguistics, a “must” for lovers of English, a treasury of delights for anyone intrigued by the sparkling interplay of language and life.