😒 Yiddish Pejoratives

We "schachern" (haggle), get annoyed about "Gemauschel" (jiggery-pokery) or fear being "abgezockt" (ripped off). Everyday German is full of loan words from Yiddish. But caution is advised when using Yiddish loan words with a negative or derogatory meaning. This is because many Yiddish words that originally had a completely neutral or positive connotation have been given a derogatory reinterpretation in German. And that makes them an expression of anti-Semitism. Yiddish words that have retained their casually charming character, such as "schmusen", "malochen", "Tacheles reden", finding something "meschugge" or being "angeschickert", are harmless.