Just Say Nu

Yiddish for Every Occasion (When English Just Won't Do)

By: Michael Wex

Narrated by: Michael Wex

Just say Nu is a practical guide to using Yiddish words and expressions in day-to-day situations. Along with enough grammar to enable readers to put together a comprehensible sentence and avoid embarrassing mistakes, Wex also explains the five most useful Yiddish words–shoyn, nu, epes, takeh, and nebakh–what they mean, how and when to use them, and how they can be used to conduct an entire conversation without anybody ever suspecting that the reader doesn't have the vaguest idea of what anyone is actually saying. Readers will learn how to shmooze their way through such activities as meeting and greeting; eating and drinking; praising and finding fault; maintaining personal hygiene; going to the doctor; driving; parenting; getting horoscopes; committing crimes; going to singles bars; having sex; talking politics, and talking trash. People have finally started to realize that there's nothing in the world that can't be improved by translating it into Yiddish. Just say Nu is the book that's going to show them how.

©2007 Michael Wex; (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

<p>“The cleverer, the truer, the better. And, like Wex's previous BORN TO KVETCH, this is plenty clever and awfully true. His [Wex's] deadpan delivery adds to the laughs...I laughed 'til I plotzed!” —<i>AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner</i><br><br>“Wise, witty and altogether wonderful…. Mr. Wex has perfect pitch. He always finds the precise word, the most vivid metaphor, for his juicy Yiddishisms, and he enjoys teasing out complexities.” —<i>William Grimes, The New York Times on Born to Kvetch</i></p>

Hysterical!

You can’t beat hearing him read his books aloud. It’s the only way to experience them!

Really Funny

Written and narrated by the author, Michael Wex delivers his topic as nobody else ever could. Am I fluent in Yiddish now? No, but I sure hope he writes more (and narrarates more) books!

Nu, about Wex’s speech cadence

If you go to YouTube and search for “Marty on the Mountain talks about his years on Mt. Washington,” you’ll be shocked to discover the pause or extension of words (especially the last word of a sentence) that Wex displays is, yes, very unique but, no, not on purpose and not unique only to him! I stopped noticing it fairly quickly. We should be so lucky that this is this is all we have to kvetch about! A very enjoyable book—and I’m grateful he read it!