Chutzpah . . . Chutzpae
Monday, November 19, 2007 at 00:00
By Marcel Strigberger
In a recent decision, East York (Borough) v. Ontario (Attorney General) 34 O.R. (3d) on page 804 Justice Borins relies on the Yiddish expression "chutzpah" meaning "audacity" or "nerve" in describing the attitude of certain government action. Borins J. in fact describes the conduct as "megachutzpah". A footnote indicates that "Yiddish is quickly supplanting Latin as the spice in American legal argot". A reference is made to an article by Alex Kozinski and Eugene Volokh, "Lawsuit, Smawsuit" (1993) 103 Yale Law Review. 463.
I have no difficulty seeing how Yiddish can readily replace Latin as the language of choice for legal maxims. Yiddish expressions are certainly more colourful and humourous and to the point, leaving no doubt as to the user's sentiments. Unlike Latin however, they are often laced with sexual or biological curses and connotations. Sounds good so far?
I have therefore decided to review some of the more common Latin maxims and have attempted to translate them into Yiddish...and then the Yiddish into English. But reader beware. In doing this, there may be a slight deviation in the translations in part because my Latin may be a bit rusty and in part because I had to consult my octogenarian mother, whose only vocabulary of any word even remotely resembling Latin is the word, "Tuchis", as in," He can kiss my..." To boot, her English is also not quite Churchillian. So caveat emptor. In fact why not start with this one... infra.
Latin: caveat emptor
Yiddish: Ich hob meine tsuris
English: I have my own problems.
Latin: volenti no fit injuria
Yiddish: ver hot ehm geshikt?
English: Who asked him to be dumb enough to go?
Latin: res ipsa loquitur
Yiddish: loz is reden
English: Let it speak. Do I care?
Latin: ex parte
Yiddish: alyne? mishiga!
English: Alone? crazy!
Latin: sine die
Yiddish: nicht a heen; nicht aherr
English: Neither here nor there. Mishiga.
Latin: non est factum
Yiddish: ich hob dus intergeshruben? Du kenst kishen mein tuchis. Ozvorff!Farflucht!Idiot!
English: I signed that? You can kiss my tuchis my good man.
Latin: audi alterum partem
Yiddish: herr mich tzi.
English: Listen to me. I'm your mother.
Latin: de minimis non curat lex
Yiddish: fardrei dir dan kop; guy kaken of dem yam
English: You're bugging me with this? Go take a dump in the middle of the ocean.
Latin: mens rea
Yiddish: ehr hobt a kop far dey zachen. Loz ehr vaksen vi a tsibale mit dem kop in drert
English: If he can think these thoughts, may he grow like an onion with his head in the ground.
Latin: actus reus
Yiddish: azoi?
English: No kidding?
Latin: functus officio
Yiddish: loz ehr is machen ven mein babbe macht is
English: Let him do it when my grandma does it.
Latin: pro bono
Yiddish: a shnorrer advocat. meshiga?
English: Even worse than doing it on a Legal Aid certificate.
Latin: nemo dat quod non a habet
Yiddish: a ganeff
English: Don't trust politician.
Latin: in extremis
Yiddish: oi vay!
English: Yikes!
Latin: habeas corpus
Yiddish: vegen mir ken ehr dort blaben
English: As far as I'm concerned, if he can do such a thing he can rot there.
Latin: animus deserendi
Yiddish: Loz zi gayen tzum reech. Du vest treffen andere meidelech
English: She can go to the devil. You'll find other women.
Latin: scienter
Yiddish: Ein bis frei? Du machts dich tsi du bist?
English: Are you pretending to be or are you actually nuts? One bite pro bono?
Latin: subpoena duces tecum
Yiddish: duces...shmookes...tuchis
English: You'll have to drag me to court kicking and screaming.
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There you have it. Pliny, Ovid and Lord Denning, eat your hearts out. ______________
© 2007 Marcel Strigberger. This article CANNOT be copied or reproduced in any way without the expressed written consent of the Author.
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