Following are some terms handed down in the family lexicon.
Low German
Abromtje: n. heart of a watermelon
Dumheit: n. lit. “dumbness”; silly carryings-on or conversation
Faspa: n. lit. “vespers”; early Sunday supper of rolls, butter, jam, cheese, cold meats, pickles, coffee
Knacksot: n. sunflower seeds (popular snack)
putz: v. putter; do a little work here, a little work there
sparsam: adj. (related to “sparse”) thrifty to the point of ascetic; a culturally defining concept
Schput: n. a joke, fun, e.g., “Don’t take it seriously, I’m just making Schput.”
Toot: small paper bag of goodies given to children at Christmas with nuts, candy, and an orange
verrücht em Kopf: adj. crazy in the head (accompanied by circular motion over head)
Low German and Russian/Ukrainian culinary traditions:
borscht: cabbage soup (Russian)
jreena Shaubelsupp: green bean soup we jokingly call shovel soup
Papakrut: herb known to the “English” world as summer savory and to Germans as Bohnenkraut, important ingredient in jreena Shaubelsupp
paska: (related to “paschal”) Easter bread (Russian)
perieschkje: small fruit pastries/tarts (Russian–pirozhki)
Pfeffernüssen: tiny spiced cookies eaten by the handful at Christmastime
Pflintzen: thin pancakes like crepes rolled up with fruit filling
Platz: thin coffee cake with fruit topping
Plumamoos: prunes or other dried fruits, such as cherries, in a sweet, creamy sauce (I never liked this!)
Portselkje: spherical doughnut with raisins deep-fat fried, then rolled in sugar, served at New Year’s; also known as New Year’s cookies
Rollkuchen: deep-fat fried, twisted, not-sweet doughnut served with watermelon slices as a meal outdoors during the summer
Schnetke: leftover pastry dough left after making a pie crust cut into small pieces, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, and baked for a snack
verenike: boiled dumplings filled with dry curd cottage cheese or Tvorog cheese and egg mixture, topped with bread crumbs browned in butter and cream (Russian)
Zweibach: medium-sized roll topped by a smaller roll attached by poking the forefinger through both
Note: See Mennonite Foods & Folkways from South Russia Vol I by Norma Jost Voth for actual quotes from my Oma, Mary Dirks Janzen, regarding traditional foods.
High German and Schwäbisch
Ach, du lieber Schreck!: int. Oh, my goodness!/Dear me! (Schreck = shriek), said when something is bad or frightening. The closest English equivalent I can think of is, Oh, for the love of Pete!
Bauchweh: n. digestive issues
Dicksack: n. a thick slab of lard, used pejoratively toward a person
Nichtsnutz: n. good-for-nothing/ne’er-do-well (in a lovable way)
Schnipples: n.pl. small bits and pieces of food left over; example: “Why don’t you eat up these few Schnipples so I don’t have to put them away.”
Schlabberhannes: n. a messy eater who lets food and drink run down his front
Schnickelfritz: n. a child with a gleam in her eye and something silly up her sleeve (that’s right, I was once a Schnickelfritz)
schön: adj. beautiful; even if you are not wealthy, those items of home decor you have should be of good quality and schön
German culinary traditions:
Blaukraut: side dish of cooked sweet and sour purple cabbage, apple, onion, vinegar, and red wine
Kartoffelklösse: potato dumplings
Sauerbraten: roast marinated for a period of days in a vinegar marinade
Spätzle: small noodles formed by scraping bits of fresh dough into boiling water
Springerle: Christmas cookies formed with a wooden press and flavored with anise
Stollen: sweet, frosted yeast bread with dried fruits and almonds served Christmas morning
Fun stuff for children, with that Germanic sense of appropriateness of material for healthy child development, a la the brothers Grimm:
Bounce child on knee while chanting:
Hoppa, hoppa Reiter,
Fällt er hin so schreit er,
Fällt er in den Graben,
Fressen ihn die Raben,
Fällt er in den Sumf,
Macht er einen Plumms!
(at which time, drop child to the floor)
Translation:
Giddyup, giddyup rider,
When he falls he shrieks,
When he falls into the ditch,
The ravens will eat him,
If he falls in the swamp,
He will go splash! (lit. “make a splash”)
(Thanks to my friend Natascha for this translation. She says “This nursery rhyme/song is VERY popular and well-known in Germany.”)
Hoppa Hoppa Reiter text in Oma Mary Dirks’s handwriting
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