Author Archives: Kennedy Zak

Two Jews, three opinions

Nationality: American
Age: 24
Occupation: student
Residence: New York City
Performance Date: 2/21/23
Primary Language: English

This joke comes from my sister, BZ, who converted to Judaism four years ago. 

Text:

A popular joke is “Two Jews, three opinions.” 

Context:

“This just means that Jews love to argue and debate so much that there are three opinions for every two Jews,” BZ said. “It is used when arguing and being silly.” She first heard this phrase used in “a Jewish arguing Facebook group.” She says she and her boyfriend, who is also Jewish, use this sometimes when they are arguing over things that aren’t very important. “I’m a very stubborn person with a lot of opinions so my boyfriend thinks it’s funny to say this to me when I’m ranting about something that doesn’t really matter.” 

Analysis:

I found this to be a fun and silly joke. I have heard harmful stereotypes about Jewish people being stubborn or even greedy in terms of their past as tax collectors in the Bible, so I think it’s nice that the Jewish community has kind of reclaimed their own stereotype and made it into a digestible inside joke to be enjoyed among themselves. I will say that I think this joke is best to be made by Jewish people, because I think if other groups use it, it enters back into the harmful stereotype category. 

The Double Mitzvah

Nationality: American
Age: 24
Occupation: student
Residence: New York
Performance Date: 2/21/23
Primary Language: English

This tabooistic vocabulary comes from my sister, BZ, who converted to Judaism four years ago. 

Text:

“We call having sex on Saturday ‘the double mitzvah.’”

Context:

“This means you have fulfilled two commandments at once: be fruitful and multiply, and enjoy the Sabbath,” BZ said. She first heard this phrase while at dinner at Hillel. She says she and her friends use this phrase quite often because they think it’s a funny innuendo that only their community would pick up on.

Analysis:

When my sister shared this tabooistic phrase with me, I thought it was really funny. I’ve obviously heard different sayings that refer to sex like “hook up,” but I hadn’t heard anything tied to religion. The only religion I’m extremely familiar with is Christianity and I have definitely not heard many sex jokes from that realm. I think it’s great that the Jewish community is able to be casual and playful when it comes to referring to sex instead of making it a shameful thing.

“Τα μάτια σου τέσσερα.”

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 2/20/21
Primary Language: English
Language: Greek

This proverb comes from my friend LP who is Greek. 

Text:

“Τα μάτια σου τέσσερα.” The translation roughly means “use four eyes.”

“Τα μάτια σου δεκατέσσερα.” The translation roughly means “use fourteen eyes.”

Context:

“My mom and my yia-yia (a.k.a. grandma) will use the first saying whenever I go out somewhere they consider somewhat dangerous,” LP said. “For example, if I got dinner in the city with my friends, my mom would use that saying as I was walking out the door. It essentially means be careful and keep a lookout for danger. If I’m going somewhere that my mom considers to be super dangerous, she’ll use the second phrase. This just means be extra careful — hence the fourteen eyes instead of four.”

Analysis:

When LP told me the first saying, I thought it was interesting and that the number four made sense as I’ve heard things like “I have a pair eyes on the back of my head.” When she followed it up with the second saying about fourteen eyes, I was surprised at the huge jump in numbers and it got me curious about the number four itself since it was found in both sayings. I found that in Greek mythology, four is the number of Jupiter who is the “master of the protection and the justice,” which fit along perfectly with the context Leia provided for the phrase. The phrases are sweet and endearing as they imply caring about the wellbeing of loved ones. 

Θα το πάρεις κόκκινο.

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 2/20/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Greek

This proverb comes from my friend LPwho is Greek. 

Text:

“Θα το πάρεις κόκκινο.” The translation roughly means “I’ll give you the red one.” 

Context:

“This is a sarcastic saying that we use when someone asks for something ridiculous,” LP said. “For example, when I was a kid and I asked for a fancy toy, my mom would respond with that saying. She’d respond with the saying to show that 1) I wasn’t getting the toy and 2) it was a bit ridiculous of me to ask. It’s kind of a funny phrase because it’s pretty sarcastic.”

Analysis:

When I tried to research this one, I didn’t have any luck finding anything which surprised me and makes me curious about how common it is. This sort of reminds me of the popular phrase “you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit,” because both are used to lightly ridicule children who may be asking for too much. After not finding anything directly tied to this phrase, I tried to see what different symbolism the color red had in Greek culture to see if I could find a connection there. In doing this, however, I mostly found red as being a symbol for blood and cycles of life, which doesn’t particularly fit with this proverb. Overall, it’s a pretty straightforward and charming phrase and I would be very interested in talking to more Greek people about if they’ve heard of it and/or use it.

The Indian Head Wobble

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 2/21/23
Primary Language: English

This gesture comes from my roommate, NH, who is half Indian and participated in Bharatanatyam dance for 14 years.

Text:

“In Indian culture, instead of an up and down head nod that is common in American culture, a  side to side tilt is more common. It is used often when answering ‘yes’ to a question or to indicate that you understand what someone is telling you,” NH said.

Context: 

“I encountered it the most when at dance practice, as my dance teacher would often use it. My grandmother also uses it,” NH said. She also mentioned that as a kid she would sometimes use this gesture after being around her grandmother, but as she grew older, the American up and down nod became more second nature.

Analysis:

After some research, I discovered that this gesture NH described to me is often called the “Indian head bobble/wobble” and can be used to express a range of emotions. One website described an array of bobble subgroups such as “The Hello Wobble,” “The Acknowledgment Wobble,” “The Sign of Respect Wobble,” “The No / Yes / Maybe Wobble,” “The Not Sure / Maybe / Perhaps Wobble,” and “The Got it! Wobble.” I find it very interesting that NH only described “yes wobble” and “the got it wobble.” I’m sure it just takes conversational context to figure out what someone’s wobble means, but it is very fascinating that the same gesture can mean so many things.