Virtual Vaudeville Title

Definition: nemt a missamashinna

The man that owned the store he chased me quickly,
And with his fist he hit me in the eye,
Then I told him for to nemt, a, missamashinna,
And at the dirty loafers I did cry.

The yiddish expression "nemt a missamashinna" occurs in a verse of Frank Bush's song the Sheeny Glazier. It literally means "take a bad feeling" or "may you feel bad." Bush's character invokes this comically anemic curse in response to the Irish bully who has just hit him. Most likely, Jewish members of the audience would laugh with recognition at this authentic yiddish phrase.


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