I'll Drink to Yiddish

       My daughter gave me a mug with Yiddish expressions and sayings on it.  My mother and father spoke some Yiddish, nowhere near as much as their parents, and I know a handful of words.  Thus the progression with each generation a little more distanced from the Mother tongue.  Yet Yiddish makes its way into English:  "Chutzpah," for example.

       My favorite saying on the mug is, "Life is nothing but a dream, but don't wake me up!"

       The Yiddish (transliterated)?  "Dos lebn iz nit mer vi a kholem, ober vekt mikh nit oyl!"

       Yiddish is a combination of German and Hebrew, and English with large Germanic background allows one to make out a few of the words.

       There's an element of street smarts, common sense, and a good deal of humor in these Yiddish expressions.