# What is this person saying?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-person-saying/600924>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 27, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-person-saying/600924 "2011-10-27T00:25:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-person-saying/600924/1 "2011-10-27T00:25:53Z")

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He’s referring to a deceased boxer’s kid, who hung around the ring, referring to him as a “little [sha-dish]” or something like that. I took it to be Yiddish for obvious reasons. What is it, and what does it mean?

[https://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm119/badger60/?action=view¤t=MVI\_5324.mp4](https://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm119/badger60/?action=view&current=MVI_5324.mp4)

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**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-person-saying/600924/2 "2011-10-27T00:52:40Z")

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I am not a native Yiddish speaker, but from working with others who were I think it means “hush hush” or “kept quiet”

“Sha!” written as if it were english is how they use to say “quiet!”

I did confim my memory was correct on that part here with the word “שאַ”

[http://www.yiddishdictionaryonline.com/dictionary/%D7%A9%D7%90%D6%B7.html](http://www.yiddishdictionaryonline.com/dictionary/%D7%A9%D7%90%D6%B7.html)

Hopefully you get a native speaker to confirm.

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**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:** [October 27, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-person-saying/600924/3 "2011-10-27T01:01:15Z")

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Sha does mean " be quiet" but that is not what is being said in the video. My folks speak Yiddish (as their first language), so I’ll try to get some info.

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-person-saying/600924/4 "2011-10-27T03:33:55Z")

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Did I miss something? Why the assumption that it’s Yiddish?

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**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:** [October 27, 2011, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-person-saying/600924/5 "2011-10-27T10:04:42Z")

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Sounds very much like Yiddish to me, and I took the OP to mean he had specific reasons why Yiddish makes sense. But you’re right- it is an assumption.

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-person-saying/600924/6 "2011-10-27T13:31:46Z")

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If New Yorker Jimmy Breslin uses a word I’m not familiar with, I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume it’s Yiddish. Just a hunch.