A little verklempt here…
Kasia September 25th, 2008
Canuck just told me that his mother’s co-workers want to host a shower for me: meet me under better circumstances than his dad’s funeral, etc.
It’s really a tribute to what a fantastic mother-in-law I’m going to be getting, because she’s known several of these women for the better part of 20 years. I’m still verklempt. Seriously - how sweet is that?
What’s “verklempt”?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/verklempt
In the words of Elvis: “I’m all choked up, uh-huh.”
Yiddish?? Are you kidding me? I couldn’t even point to Yid on a map….
I’ve never before heard that term used in conversation….
I think Kasia likes to use odd, but real, words, just to confound me….
You are so blessed.
Jaibee - I’ve heard the word used in conversation, by a few different people, hardly any of whom were Jewish and thus had no occasion to use Yiddish. I’ll cop to liking “odd but real words”, but it’s not to confound you. I promise.
Tara - I know - I really am.
I drop into Yiddish about every hundredth word (it’s part of the package deal with the DNA), but I don’t think I *ever* use “verklempt” except in ironic imitation of Mike Myers as Linda Richman.
Yiddish trivia: both “putz” and “schmuck” literally mean “penis”, but of course their main usage is insulting, more like “dick” than “penis” (as in “dickhead” or something similar). One word implies circumcised; the other, unclipped. I do not, however, know which is which.
About your wedding, a tip for the Canuck:
WEAR YOUR OWN SHOES. Do not pay an extra cent for rental shoes. You are the groom. As long as your get-up does not resemble a clown outfit, nobody is going to remember what you wore. Especially on your feet. You may as well be comfortable.
Do make sure they’re polished very well as they will show up in the full-length photos, though.
Cousin Joe - Now that you mention it, most of the people I’ve heard use “verklempt” have been goyim. I just have a weakness for words that encapsulate something more concisely than you can do in English, the most popular example being “schadenfreude”.
Heather - I wish I could count on a similar forgetfulness for my outfit…
Having grown up in Europe, I can tell you that we use verklempt and schadenfreude….skadefryd….daily. So Kasia, you are not that strange, just live in a strange land! Right, Canuck??? BTW, your future MIL is a saint!
Nina,
Exactly! Strange land indeed