Hebrew Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Hebrew language. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

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after n. As the soldier advances in pazam (acronym for perek zman, or “amount of time served"), he will without a doubt experience more and more chuparim, or “goodies.” These can take the form of an after (from the English, meaning a few hours’ leave from the base to roam around town and catch a movie) [English-derived Hebrew Israel] [full cite] (Dec. 6, 2004)

bark mitzvah n. In the long walk of history between man and dog, the bark mitzvah could be seen as an unexpected pit stop. Yet it was celebrated on Saturday night in the Bronx in a traditional way, with a party for family and friends of the 13-year-old that included a chopped-liver sculpture, choruses of “mazel tov!” (or, in this case, “muzzle tov!"), a cantor and gifts. [English Hebrew United States Animals, Insects, & Birds] [full cite] (Dec. 20, 2004)

Boeing aliya n. As many as 50% of them fit into the category of the “Boeing Aliya”—an expression coined to describe families in which the husband commutes. “It is a quality aliya: They come from a rich country and it’s hard for them to give up the standard of living they were used to,” explains Feldman. The husband leaves his family in Israel and keeps working in France until he can find a job in Israel that allows them to live here without sacrificing their former lifestyle. [Hebrew Israel] [full cite] (Dec. 9, 2004)

caravillot n. The government has built 351 prefabricated homes in Nitzan. The “caravillot,” an invented Hebrew word combining caravan and villa, range in size from 60 square meters (646 square feet) to 150 square meters (1,615 square feet) for the largest families. [Hebrew Israel Architecture] [full cite] (Sep. 10, 2005)

haltura n. Israelis call it “haltura,” slang for a cross between make-do ingenuity, shoddy amateurism and moonlighting, with a dash of disdain for the letter of the law thrown in. [Hebrew Israel] [full cite] (Jun. 28, 2004)

haltura n. I’m not going away from Israel to do “halturas” (free-lance jobs) with other orchestras. It’s basically going to be an opera season for me. [Hebrew Israel Business Employment] [full cite] (Jun. 29, 2004)

haltura n. He is treating the Foreign Ministry portfolio as a haltura, (a side job), which has left the Foreign Ministry and all its accumulated expertise in a shambles. [Hebrew Israel] [full cite] (Jun. 29, 2004)

hocker n. Sem wonders if skeptical rabbis mean that the press can’t do its job, and that therefore “hockers” are the best sources of information for what the rabbis think…When it comes to the “hock” associated with those rabbis, a journalist who has a similar relationship is just as valuable as the hocker, perhaps even better in some cases I’ve been involved with, because the rabbi knows that the journalist isn’t just looking for the latest lashon hara. [New York City Hebrew Yiddish United States] [full cite] (Jun. 3, 2004)

lecondel n. The long build-up to Annapolis, together with Rice’s many trips to the region, have given birth to a new verb in Israeli government circles: “lecondel,” based on Rice’s first name. People say that they don’t have time to “lecondel”—meaning, to come and go for meetings that produce few results. [Hebrew Politics New or Nonce] [full cite] (Nov. 18, 2007)

mangal n. Mangal (actually bbq, but in a public park). [Hebrew Food & Drink] [full cite] (Aug. 19, 2005)

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