There is a word I want to put in a script I’m working on but I’m not too sure about the spelling. It means crazy or messed up. It’s a great word because, 1) is has peculiar musicality to it and 2) though really quite clean, it sounds suspiciously off-color. It’s pronounced fuh-KOCK-tah. Any help?
I’d reckon verkochte. (confusingly, it also appears to be Dutch for something - “Imported”, from what I can gather using a combination of Google, crappy online translators and my own skill ‘n’ judgement.
I did find one result from Googling yiddish verkochte, so it is at least A spelling if not THE spelling.
From http://www.tricityjcc.org/resources/arts/yiddish_2.html
Of course, that may not be right. I’m sure Zev may correct us all.
Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about the spelling, because Yiddish, when properly written, is written with Hebrew letters. So no matter how you write it in English, it’s going to be a transliteration.
My copy of Every Goy’s Guide to Common Jewish Expressions, by Arthur Naiman, spells it fercockt or fercockta, and defines it as “More or less equivalent to ‘fucked up’. (Literally, ‘shitted up’.)”
He transliterates all the similar words with “fer”, rather than “ver”.
Thanks all.
Especially you, Harp.