# the word 'putz' **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 27, 2000, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-putz/23661 "2000-06-27T01:38:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tubagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b77776/32.png) [@tubagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tubagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-putz/23661/1 "2000-06-27T01:38:19Z")
Ever since I have been reading this message board I have been very careful to overlook the word putz. wally used it, now everyone does. When I was a child my I once called my dad a putz ad I had never seen him get so angry. He turned all red and started breathing fire. He confronterd me with “do you know what that means!?! Don’t you EVER call me that again!!!” I was just joking for goodness sake. Seeing it on the board still startles me. Guess what dad? **PUTZ PUTZ PUTZ PUTZ!!!** WALLY: SO THERE! just my pointless mundane thought for the day… tubagirl ---
**Author:** ![SILENT-BOB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@SILENT-BOB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SILENT-BOB)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-putz/23661/2 "2000-06-27T01:42:10Z")
:rolleyes: :wally 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tubagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b77776/32.png) [@tubagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tubagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-putz/23661/3 "2000-06-27T01:46:51Z")
:wally that is the symbol I meant in the post :wally ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-putz/23661/4 "2000-06-27T02:08:56Z")
In 1928, **S.J. Perelman** , one of America’s wittiest writers, outlined “the 18 steps by which the harmless clod becomes the actively disagreeable outlaw…” Interesting to note how many of these Yiddish words have found their way into English usage! Pischer Pachechlick Nebich Dapess Chnyoch Schmielitzik Schmendrick Schlepper Schmegeggie (my personal favourite) Schlemiehl Schmuruck Schnorrer Pascudnick Pascudnyack Pascudstveh Schvantz Schmuck Potz (with an umlaut). Spellings are Perelman’s. Can anyone enlighten this goyim as to the subtle differences between a Pascudnick, a Pascudnyack, and a Pascudstveh? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-putz/23661/5 "2000-06-27T03:41:11Z")
Hmmm. “Putz” is Yiddish for “penis”. “Putzen” is German for “to wash”. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-putz/23661/6 "2000-06-27T03:46:51Z")
Ah, for the good old days of the Fifties and Sixties, when Yiddish was all America’s second language. Some of it even got past TV’s censors! Putzen would also be the plural form of putz, I presume. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-putz/23661/7 "2000-06-27T08:46:25Z")
Hmm, and where does “meshuggenah” fit into this? ---
**Author:** ![InsanityIncarnate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7cd45c/32.png) [@InsanityIncarnate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InsanityIncarnate)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-putz/23661/8 "2000-06-27T08:51:36Z")
ok yes putzen mean to wash in german but it is pronounced like put with a zen so it doesn’t work in that way. Ok I just realized how garbled that is ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-putz/23661/9 "2000-06-27T10:34:09Z")
“Putzen” means, “to polish”, BTW. Not that that makes it any better 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2000, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-word-putz/23661/10 "2000-06-27T12:44:09Z")
Thanks, Coldfire. “Wir putzen das Auto.” (From an old German class.) I typed faster than I was thinking. Hmmm… could one say, “Ich putze mein Putz?” 😃