OK. I see the little “Putz” smiley thing. Exactly what is a “Putz”? I can’t find a definition in websters or in several slang dictionaries I checked.
Yiddish for penis.
The putz smiley is a tribute to WallyM7, a beloved poster who passed away - gosh, is it almost two years ago? He often used the term. That’s why its shortcut is : wally
:wally
How rude.
Thanks, yojimbo. It was great to remember.
Yep, you seemed to have caught the drift of the traditional usage of the work. Mostly used as an insult, like calling someone a dickhead.
Yiddish can be pretty earthy that way.
Yojimbo, thanks for that link. I’ve always wondered why that icon was called a Wally. Great link. Seems like a fun guy.
Actually, putz does not have the same sting as prick or cock. To get that level of hostility/negativity, one should use schmuck.
Putz is a bit less offensive, carrying the connotation of a bumbler rather than that of a deliberately offensive or utterly selfish person, the way that schmuck and cock do.
It does translate directly as penis, but the intent might be a little bit closer to doodle or “Mr. Happy.”
It’s like a Schwantz… only smaller. 
FTR: Putzen in German is “to clean”; as in, “Wir putzen das Auto.”
Putz in German is “finery” (according to Babelfish – I’ve only used “putzen” in the high school dialog quoted above).
Schwanz is the German word for “tail”; that is, the waggy thing at the back end of a dog.
Correction: I reversed the meanings of putz and schmuck. Putz is the more offensive word.
I had confused it with schmo. Schmo is an American-Yiddish euphemism for schmuck that carries more of the idea of a boob or simpleton. Putz is offensive.
In old threads Wally is listed as “member”,
wouldn’t it be nice to change his status to “Rest In Peace” ?
I’m not sure whether you’re just clarifying the literal meaning or not, but "Schwanz"is the common slang word for "penis"in German, as well.
Please, puly, how can you talk about penises when i’m talking about Wally’s member…status
“In old threads Wally is listed as ‘member’, wouldn’t it be nice to change his status to ‘Rest In Peace’?”
Maybe, but on the other hand maybe the idea is that Wally will ALWAYS be a member. Sorta like honoring a famous warship by leaving it on the list of active ships and never decommissioning it.
“Old Ironsides” Wally?
Well, since he was Canadian, perhaps “Victory” Wally?
Regarding “Schwanz:”
It was news to me that it meant “tail” in German, but sure, why not. But as to it’s also meaning “penis…” In Yiddish, this is illustrated during one scene from the Mel Brooks film, “Young Frankenstein” when Helga (Terri Garr) exclaims that the monster they’re planning to make, with all his parts being proportionally much larger than normal, will “have an awfully large Schweinstucker” (I’m not 100% sure of the spelling). This term figuratively means “penis,” but more literally means “pig (swine) sticker,” and I can see it also being shortened to “Schwanz,”