# How do you say "chickenshit" in Hebrew? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 30, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960 "2014-10-30T03:04:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/21 "2014-10-31T20:24:49Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > According to Google Translate, chickenshit becomes: > Yiddish: טשיקקענשיט > Hebrew: פדנט > I don’t know if this helps anyone. No it doesn’t help anyone, because it is _totally wrong_. The first one ( Yiddish) is simply the word “chickenshit” spelled in the Yiddish alphabet. The second one, in Hebrew, is ridiculously wrong–it says “Pedant”, which is (surprise!) the Hebrew word for “pedantic”. Which makes no sense at all. Somebody should re-program the google translator. Teach it that if the program doesn’t know what the hell it should do, it should admit it. It should simply display “no translation available”, instead of making a blind guess. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/22 "2014-10-31T20:28:55Z")
Pedant isn’t a totally terrible translation. The principal meaning of the insult is someone who is focused on petty and unimportant matters. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/23 "2014-10-31T20:42:14Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Pedant isn’t a totally terrible translation. The principal meaning of the insult is someone who is focused on petty and unimportant matters. “Chickenshit” has two common meanings. The first is - petty and unimportant pedantic details. As in “the US soldiers at the front hated the rear eschelons and their chickenshit bureaucracy”. The second is - a cowardly and worthless person. In context, it looks like the jibe was intended to have the second of the two meanings. > **[Urban Dictionary: chickenshit](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chickenshit)** > > WWII troop slang for military bureaucratic bullshit. The word implies that the regulations in question are so silly and trifling that they don't measure up to the level of bullshit. Subsequently, the word came to be merely an intensification of the... > **[chickenshit](https://www.thefreedictionary.com/chickenshit)** > > Definition, Synonyms, Translations of chickenshit by The Free Dictionary ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/24 "2014-10-31T21:00:32Z")
I don’t think the context is as clear as you do. I’ve only read the original article in which this quote appeared, but my recollection from the article was that the complaint was as much about pettiness as it was over cowardice. Which is the real Obama Administration critique of Netanyahu, that he’s afraid to go to war with Iran or that he’s overly focused on trivial and petty political matters? It sure seems to me like the latter based on the reporting in that article and common sense. But I know much has been written about this that I haven’t read, so I could well be missing something. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2014, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/25 "2014-11-01T22:56:58Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > “Chickenshit” has two common meanings. > > The first is - petty and unimportant pedantic details. As in “the US soldiers at the front hated the rear eschelons and their chickenshit bureaucracy”. > > The second is - a cowardly and worthless person. > > In context, it looks like the jibe was intended to have the second of the two meanings. > > [Urban Dictionary: chickenshit](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chicken+shit) > > [Chickenshit - definition of chickenshit by The Free Dictionary](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/chickenshit) The urban dictionary is a good cite for showing how people incorrectly use a word. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/26 "2014-11-03T14:47:32Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The urban dictionary is a good cite for showing how people incorrectly use a word. Good thing I posted two cites that both say the same thing, then. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/27 "2014-11-03T15:39:58Z")
A magazine article pointed out that “coward” is what you call someone before a duel and that “chickenshit” is what you call someone before a bar fight. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/28 "2014-11-03T15:59:18Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > I don’t think the context is as clear as you do. I’ve only read the original article in which this quote appeared, but my recollection from the article was that the complaint was as much about pettiness as it was over cowardice. > > Which is the real Obama Administration critique of Netanyahu, that he’s afraid to go to war with Iran or that he’s overly focused on trivial and petty political matters? It sure seems to me like the latter based on the reporting in that article and common sense. > > But I know much has been written about this that I haven’t read, so I could well be missing something. [http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/30/us-mideast-israel-usa-idUSKBN0IJ23C20141030](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/30/us-mideast-israel-usa-idUSKBN0IJ23C20141030) Apparently, the source stated as follows: "“The thing about Bibi is, he’s a chickenshit,” the unidentified official was quoted as saying in The Atlantic. “The good thing about Netanyahu is that he’s scared to launch wars,” the official said, alluding to past hints of possible Israeli military action against Iran’s nuclear program. “The bad thing about him is that he won’t do anything to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians or with the Sunni Arab states.” In sum, he’s a “coward” - which is good in that he won’t “start wars” (with Iran), and bad in that he won’t take political risks to reach “accomodation” with Arabs. The word “coward” fits much better in context than “pedant”. It is pretty clear, in context, that the word was intended to mean ‘a contemptible coward’. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/29 "2014-11-03T16:13:12Z")
Probably better to refer to the original [article](http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/the-crisis-in-us-israel-relations-is-officially-here/382031/2/). The relevant quote is this one: > [@](#): > > I had not previously heard Netanyahu described as a “chickenshit.” I thought I appreciated the implication of this description, but it turns out I didn’t have a full understanding. From time to time, current and former administration officials have described Netanyahu as \*\*a national leader who acts as though he is mayor of Jerusalem, which is to say, a no-vision small-timer who worries mainly about pleasing the hardest core of his political constituency. \*\*(President Obama, in interviews with me, has alluded to Netanyahu’s lack of political courage.) [emphasis added] The later context goes both ways, I think. There are two quotes suggesting the official or others understood the insult to be about cowardice–e.g., “‘The good thing about Netanyahu is that he’s scared to launch wars,’ the official said, expanding the definition of what a chickenshit Israeli prime minister looks like.” And the other official Goldberg runs this by “agreed that Netanyahu is a ‘chickenshit’ on matters related to the comatose peace process, but added that he’s also a ‘coward’ on the issue of Iran’s nuclear threat.” But we also have the line that “[a]nother manifestation of his chicken-shittedness, in the view of Obama administration officials, is his near-pathological desire for career-preservation.” That seems more consistent with the pettiness meaning than the cowardice meaning. Seems to me entirely possible that the different sources in this story understood the word to mean different things (or at least both things). ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/30 "2014-11-03T16:33:35Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Probably better to refer to the original [article](http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/the-crisis-in-us-israel-relations-is-officially-here/382031/2/). The relevant quote is this one: > > The later context goes both ways, I think. > > There are two quotes suggesting the official or others understood the insult to be about cowardice–e.g., “‘The good thing about Netanyahu is that he’s scared to launch wars,’ the official said, expanding the definition of what a chickenshit Israeli prime minister looks like.” And the other official Goldberg runs this by “agreed that Netanyahu is a ‘chickenshit’ on matters related to the comatose peace process, but added that he’s also a ‘coward’ on the issue of Iran’s nuclear threat.” > > But we also have the line that “[a]nother manifestation of his chicken-shittedness, in the view of Obama administration officials, is his near-pathological desire for career-preservation.” That seems more consistent with the pettiness meaning than the cowardice meaning. > > Seems to me entirely possible that the different sources in this story understood the word to mean different things (or at least both things). The thrust of the quoted bits from the original source (as opposed to the author’s gloss) was “he’s got no guts”. From the original article: > [@](#): > > “The good thing about Netanyahu is that he’s scared to launch wars,” the official said, expanding the definition of what a chickenshit Israeli prime minister looks like. “The bad thing about him is that he won’t do anything to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians or with the Sunni Arab states. The only thing he’s interested in is protecting himself from political defeat. He’s not [Yitzhak] Rabin, he’s not [Ariel] Sharon, he’s certainly no [Menachem] Begin. He’s got no guts.” From this, I’d say “coward” fits best. He’s allegedly afraid to take any chances (launch wars on the one hand, come to an accomodation on the other). All he cares about is political survival. Lack of vision and small-timerness is the author’s added gloss, from other sources (“current and former administration officials”, including Obama, apparently). So I agree, others are using the term with both meanings - but there is no indication the actual original source quoted in the article meant anything other than “contemptible coward”. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/31 "2014-11-03T20:32:39Z")
I think too that one aspect of the word is this - while cowardly in actions, it is combined with a petty attitude and actions to compensate. The military “chickenshit bureaucracy” in the earlier example, not only don’t fight on the front lines (cowardly) but through petty regulations and many small obstructions make life difficult for those who do fight, so as to prove their ultimate power over them. I see this attitude in the news recently where, for example, the PM decides that since he couldn’t accomplish any effective result in Gaza, he is proving his power by threatening once more to build more settlements, by blocking Arabs access to the Al-Aqsa mosque, etc. The Washington official(s) are annoyed with the petty revenge and I assume hence the snarky description. And of course, there are words that carry a mixed load of subtle connotations in English that probably don’t have equivalents in Hebrew. A literal translation won’t have the same meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/32 "2014-11-03T21:19:30Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > I think too that one aspect of the word is this - while cowardly in actions, it is combined with a petty attitude and actions to compensate. The military “chickenshit bureaucracy” in the earlier example, not only don’t fight on the front lines (cowardly) but through petty regulations and many small obstructions make life difficult for those who do fight, so as to prove their ultimate power over them. In WWII probably the biggest proponent of chickenshit leadership was George Patton. He had plenty of faults. Cowardice was not one of them. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960/33 "2014-11-03T21:22:04Z")
Kerry has [apologized.](http://www.jta.org/2014/11/02/news-opinion/politics/kerry-calls-netanyahu-apologizes-for-anonymous-chickenshit-remark) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say-chickenshit-in-hebrew/702960.md?page=1)