Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2009 August 18

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August 18

Yiddish word

I came across the word miyeser, spelled in Latin characters, and haven't been able to find out what it means. It was used in the derogatory phrase miyeser shlang. The only other online example I've found is here, but it wasn't very edifying for me. Any ideas? LANTZY^TALK 13:39, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Could this be related to the German word mies, which means "lousy, grungy, sleazy, nasty, etc."? Marco polo (talk) 13:58, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

That sounds very plausible. LANTZY^TALK 15:08, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

I am guessing, too, but Ida may have called her wealthy uncle a "miserable prick". --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 13:59, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Yes, there's the distinct possibility that miyeser isn't a Yiddish word at all, but rather a heavily-accented miser. LANTZY^TALK 15:08, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Except that miyeser is inflected as an adjective, and it would be strange to call someone "a miser prick". It sounds much more natural to say "sleazy/filthy prick". And there is that other example you've found, suggesting that it is at least a slang Yiddish word. Have you also searched texts using the Hebrew script? Marco polo (talk) 15:14, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

The German adjective mies as well as the nouns Miesmacher ("killjoy"), Miesepeter ("sourpuss") and Miese (losing points in Skat) all seem to derive from Yiddish (and not the other way around). According to The Meaning of Yiddish: 'MIyes ("ugly") derives from muktse mehamat miyus ("not to be touched because of its loathsomeness") while in Hebrew, maUS is "loathsome" ' (Benjamin Harshav, The Meaning of Yiddish (Contraversions : Jews and Other Differences), Stanford University Press, 1998, p 60) [1]. ---Sluzzelin talk 19:02, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Salcia Landmann, in Jiddisch, Das Abenteuer einer Sprache writes: "míess (miúss): 'ekelhaft', häßlich ..." - my translation: "disgusting, ugly (both for people as well as for things. The word miess (sic!) also entered the German language.". There is also Miesmuschel, which is etymologically unrelated. — Sebastian 19:24, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, everyone. LANTZY^TALK 04:26, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

Hitting below the water line

What is the meaning and origin of the phrase "to hit below the water line"? My Google-fu failed me this time. --ReluctantPhilosopher (talk) 14:46, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm having some Google trouble myself, but a hit (or hole) below the waterline on a boat would allow water to enter, with the expected disastrous results. --LarryMac | Talk 15:04, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Or isn't that coming from a sport foul in water polo, as a metaphor of unfair behaviour (a kick below the water line would not be noticed by the referee)? --pma (talk) 15:38, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Something hit, or holed, below the water line isn't complaining about unfair play, it's sinking (or likely to do so). Applying Occam's razor, the derivation from boats with holes in is the more likely. Tonywalton ^Talk 23:08, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Well, I also consider the naval interpretation as more natural, although honestly your argument is not logically floating. And Occam's razor should not be quoted praeter necessitatem ;) --pma (talk) 06:36, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

There's also the phrase "to hole ones own boat".

If you consider ships fighting with cannon in olden times it should be obvious where the phrase has come from.83.100.250.79 (talk) 23:51, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I seem to recall Captain Blood yelling to his gunners, "Keep pounding the water line!" Deor (talk) 22:51, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

"Five more years till carousel"

What does it mean? Thanks. 65.88.88.75 (talk) 20:07, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

It could be a reference to Logan's Run (film) Martin451 (talk) 20:48, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

"Welcome" in modern aramaic / syriac

I'd like to welcome a syrian-orthodox who speaks aramaic, but how? [2] -- 172.173.16.187 (talk) 22:08, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

Well in Talmudic Aramaic hello was something like [ʃəlamɔː] I think. Mo-Al (talk) 17:27, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

I think Talmudic Aramaic is adulterated with Hebrew. The Gemarah frequently uses the term "shalom alecha rebbe u'mori," but I'd have to speculate than a non-Jewish Aramaic-speaker would not know what that means. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 14:46, 23 August 2009 (UTC)