# "Wear it in good health": Jewish saying? Jewish--\>NYC saying? Generally known? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wear-it-in-good-health-jewish-saying-jewish-nyc-saying-generally-known/673996 "2013-11-15T17:13:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wear-it-in-good-health-jewish-saying-jewish-nyc-saying-generally-known/673996/21 "2013-11-16T14:19:20Z")
Non Jewish Southerner, I’ve only heard it in movies and such. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wear-it-in-good-health-jewish-saying-jewish-nyc-saying-generally-known/673996/22 "2013-11-16T14:26:32Z")
Humorist and cartoonist Milt Gross often had one of his characters (Morris Feitlebaum) use “in de bast from helt”, kind of as an [interjection](http://books.google.com/books?id=iKXSf5LboekC&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=%22in+de+bast+from+helt%22&source=bl&ots=CWswba8pv0&sig=uab4mDY3q24zabef2mpn5z4msSo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JYCHUtD9OMSs2QWWnIHICg&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22in%20de%20bast%20from%20helt%22&f=false). ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wear-it-in-good-health-jewish-saying-jewish-nyc-saying-generally-known/673996/23 "2013-11-16T14:46:18Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Interesting. Thanks to all. > > Note to self: talk about clothes with Gentiles more. > > Still, guy at Gap never heard of it, thought it sounded bizarre. Will continue querying Gentiles. 🙂 I always heard t as a Jewish thing among my immigrant parents and their greena friends. I assumed it was a yiddishism. Didnt realize how common it was! (Non-NYC person here. Definitely not limited to NYC) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wear-it-in-good-health-jewish-saying-jewish-nyc-saying-generally-known/673996/24 "2013-11-16T16:34:26Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Non Jewish Southerner, I’ve only heard it in movies and such. Non Jewish New Englander and it’s familiar in a shows-and-movies-set-in-NY way. Certainly nothing I’ve heard anyone say in real life, but given only 1% of the population is Jewish here it’s not surprising if the saying is from Yiddish. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wear-it-in-good-health-jewish-saying-jewish-nyc-saying-generally-known/673996/25 "2013-11-16T21:02:35Z")
It’s a pretty direct translation of what my mother always said (and I do too): “Trug gesunderhayt”. “Gay gesund un kum gesund” (“Go in health and come [return] in health”) is a totally different phrase. My mother used that too. And I grew up 90 miles from NYC. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wear-it-in-good-health-jewish-saying-jewish-nyc-saying-generally-known/673996/26 "2013-11-17T15:01:02Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > It’s a pretty direct translation of what my mother always said (and I do too): “Trug gesunderhayt”. “Gay gesund un kum gesund” (“Go in health and come [return] in health”) is a totally different phrase. My mother used that too. > > And I grew up 90 miles from NYC. Yeah, but you’re a Gentile. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wear-it-in-good-health-jewish-saying-jewish-nyc-saying-generally-known/673996/27 "2013-11-17T16:13:52Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Native Californian here. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone say it in real life, but I’d consider it “well known”…presumably from movies and/or TV, though I can’t recall where I’ve actually heard it there either. Native Southern Californian here. I don’t recall ever hearing it IRL, but I also consider it ‘well known’ from TV. I always thought that it was used dismissively. Like: ‘Oh, it’s so _nice_ you bought/were given an expensive new coat/piece of jewelry/whatever. I hope you enjoy rubbing your good fortune in our faces!’ Is it usually used sincerely, like ‘Mazel tov!’? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wear-it-in-good-health-jewish-saying-jewish-nyc-saying-generally-known/673996/28 "2013-11-17T17:08:54Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Native Southern Californian here. I don’t recall ever hearing it IRL, but I also consider it ‘well known’ from TV. > > I always thought that it was used dismissively. Like: ‘Oh, it’s so _nice_ you bought/were given an expensive new coat/piece of jewelry/whatever. I hope you enjoy rubbing your good fortune in our faces!’ Is it usually used sincerely, like ‘Mazel tov!’? Absolutely sincerely! It means “enjoy it and I hope it brings you pleasure”. I’ve never heard it ever used in a negative/sarcastic way. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wear-it-in-good-health-jewish-saying-jewish-nyc-saying-generally-known/673996/29 "2013-11-18T15:21:34Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Absolutely sincerely! It means “enjoy it and I hope it brings you pleasure”. I’ve never heard it ever used in a negative/sarcastic way. I play poker with Old Jewish Guys (and, yes, I always lose). Everything they say is negative/sarcastic. So when I’ve heard it (in reference to a new coat), there was a sense of “Well, I can’t say it was a wise purchase, or particularily stylish, but, hey, you’ve got your health… for now, anyhow, but anything could happen, and you in that coat that might not look like much but it’s servicable, even though my brother-in-law could’ve gotten you a nicer coat with some better workmanship, but hey, Mazel Tov anyhow, it could be worse …” Yeah, they talk a lot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wear-it-in-good-health-jewish-saying-jewish-nyc-saying-generally-known/673996.md?page=1)