Do non-Jews take haircuts?

[Askance]

I’ve noticed that when Germans order food at a restaurant (in English), they’ll take a particular dish, instead of have or order it. I presume that’s a literal translation from German. Could this construction have moved from German into Yinglish via Yiddish?

[Oglomott]

@erysichthon

I’ve never heard “take a haircut” before, but I have heard “take a shave” (referring to shaving yourself, not getting one from a barber).

There is a “Three Stooges” short in which Moe says, “I’m going to take a shave”. I always thought that sounded strange.

[Slithy_Tove]

@SciFiSam

Where did you learn about British English?

British people take a piss (they’ll only use “pee” if there are children around) and even take the piss. Brits also make decisions; I have heard of “take a decision” because students have asked me about it as something they’ve been taught as a British usage. Googling hasn’t helped me, but maybe it used to be the way we said it; these days we make decisions, not take them.

(Going for a piss is actually much more common than taking a piss).

British English takes a look or a seat in some contexts. If you’re pointing towards something away from you, in the context where you might use “that” rather than “this,” you say take. If you’re near the item, where you might use “this”, you might say “have”.

I’ve never heard having a shit and I suspect any google results for that would not be from native English speakers. You might refer to having had a really had shit a couple of hours ago, so maybe that’s what you’re thinking of. You definitely wouldn’t say “hey, don’t go in there, I just had a stinky shit.” Did would be more likely.

Wow, I was just joking about the Welsh. I didn’t know you guys actually believe that

[SciFiSam]

@Slithy_Tove

Wow, I was just joking about the Welsh. I didn’t know you guys actually believe that

Are you attempting humour again? I didn’t say anything about your joke about the Welsh.

[edwardcoast]

@Leo_Bloom

Question #34577 in my series on Yinglish.

By my anecdotal evidence, non-Jews get their haircut, or have their haircut, or go for a haircut, and Ive noticed that most (NYC) Jews I’ve met–when my awareness of ethnic background and arousal of linguistic inquiry coincided–take a haircut, as I do, which I’ve been told sounds a little off.

My frisseur extraordinaire is not fluent in idiomatic English, so he can’t be relied on for further data.

That sounds more like a Los Angeles thing to say “Take” as in “Take a meeting”. Never heard anyone in the NYC area say “Take a haircut” regardless of their ethnic background.

[Leo_Bloom]

Nobody picked up on my query–not a unique occurrence–on Brits saying “take the [name of magazine subscribed to].”

I’d like to know because I relate this fact on occasion at the proverbial cocktail party, and perhaps it might even be true.

[Teach-me-not]

A lot of people from where I am from “give an exam”. No, they don’t mean they are administering the exam; they are sitting in one.

I would call this “taking an exam.”

[Acsenray]

The exam thing is interesting. So far as I can tell —

Americans “take an exam”
Britons “sit for an exam”
Indians “give an exam”

[Acsenray]

Americans run for office.
Comminwealthers stand for office.

[astorian]

I have only encountered the phrase “take a haircut” a few times in my 54 years on Earth.

One of the only people I remember employing it was Dave Berg, cartoonist for Mad magazine- who WAS Jewish, for what little that’s worth.

But among Jews I’ve known, “get a haircut” was always the standard phrase, just as it is among most Gentile Americans.

[skdo23]

@choie

Whoa Nellie. I’m a freelance editor/proofreader and have a certain big bank as a client, which means I’m used to a lot of financial jargonese. Nevertheless, this week I’ve been proofing their letter to shareholders and, for the first time, came across this term “haircut” used in that sense. Now, two days later, here you are with it again!

It was used in Wall Street 2 when John Buffalo Mailer’s character was trying to convince Jake (Shia LaBeouf) to liquidate a heavily leveraged investment that was rapidly declining in value.

“The stock’s about to lose its Bar Mitzvah, Jake. Take the Haircut and sell!”

Always wondered what that meant. Was the stock about to drop to less than $13/share?

[SciFiSam]

@Leo_Bloom

Nobody picked up on my query–not a unique occurrence–on Brits saying “take the [name of magazine subscribed to].”

I’d like to know because I relate this fact on occasion at the proverbial cocktail party, and perhaps it might even be true.

It’s correct, but it’s rather old-fashioned and quite posh.

British people don’t sit for an exam. They either sit an exam or (more commonly) take an exam.

There seem to be a lot of myths about British English around!