Visual Communication, Flash, Interactive, CD-Rom, Development, User Interface Design, Flash Games, Flash Games, Illustration, Character development, Digital Illustrations
Easily the most received piece of "non-work" related email here at Visual Chutzpah is this.
From: CuriousinBrooklyn@BellPacman.net
Date:
To: webmaster@visualchutzpah.com
Subject: What is Chutzpah?
Dear sir or madam;
What is Chutzpah?
How can I get some?, what do I do with it?
and why is yours visual?
Sincerely
CuriousinBrooklyn
The answer is simple, but it's not a perfect answer. "Chutzpah" is a yiddish word that translates roughly into "aggressive or brazen boldness." Notice we said "roughly" because although that definition is accurate it fails to capture the colorfulness of the actual word.
Yiddish is a language that was born sometime between the 9th and 12th centuries in the ghettos of central Europe. Its vocabulary is basically German, but has been enlarged by borrowing from Hebrew, Slavic, English, and the Romance languages.
Because it's such an expressive and colorful language, a large number of Yiddish words have worked their way into English, perhaps words you use everyday. Take a look at a few of our tchotchke's on the left to learn a few more Yiddish words (you may have already learned two) or to find something to Nosh on.
This project is a ongoing and growing thing, gleaned from dozens of other internet projects, interviews and research. We've made every effort to make it factually accurate so if you find an error or would like to contribute to this project, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Thanks for letting us share a bit of our culture with you. Quite honestly we're learning right along with you
a small serving of our culture you can take home with you.
Schmattah: a cheap looking piece of clothing. as in I can't believe your going out in that schmattah.
Spiel: a sales pitch. as in I tried to leave the car dealership, but the salesmans spiel went on forever.
Schlepp: to carry along with difficulty. as in I must have schlepped my product samples from uptown to downtown.
Tchotchke: A trinket; a knickknack as in I visited Visual Chutzpah's website and left with some nifty tchotchke.
Matzoh Ball Soup
Komish [cookie]
Jewish Apple Cake
Challah
Knishes
additional info:
The Yiddish Radio Project
The Yiddish Book Project
Google in Yiddish