On the Tip of the Tongue

The Yiddish proverbs in this book have accumulated for hundreds years. They originate from the Bible, the Talmud, the Eastern European and German folklore, but some were coined by Yiddish speakers themselves.

Parallel proverbs and literal translations in Hebrew, English and Russian accompany the Yiddish proverbs.

The dictionary also contains alphabetical indexes of the Hebrew, English and Russian proverbs and references to the original Yiddish proverbs, thus producing a combined two-way dictionary.

Eastern European Jewish folklore is distinguished by an unusual degree of self-criticism, which is reflected in the proverbs.

A large proportion of Yiddish proverbs are humorous, perspicacious, and sophisticated and some make opposite statements about the same matter.