Bessarabian German Invectives

From Bessarabia: German Colonists on the Black Sea, by Ute Schmidt, trans. by James T. Gessele (Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, 2011), pp. 384-85:

Baba (Russian) = old woman, mommy, grandma—also translated as a lethargic person: "Des isch doch a alte Baba ... (That's a tired old grandma.)"

Bagash (French/Russian) = baggage—also translated as riffraff: "Des isch a Bagasch! (What a bunch of riffraff!)"

Barysh, "barisch" (Turkish/Russian) = profit—"Der hat sein Getreide mit gutem Barisch verkauft. (He sold his grain at a good profit.)"

Besplatno (Russian) = free of charge—"Des mache mir ihm besplatno ... (I'll do that for him free of charge.)"

Bog (Russian) = God (deep sigh): "Bozhe moi" = "Mein Gott (My God!)"

Burshui (French/Russian) = rich burgher, bourgeois, teasingly used against a well-to-do colonist—"Isch des a Burshui. (What a bourgeois he is.)"

Chakai malka (Bulgarian) = "Halt mal!" "Wart mal!" ("Wait. Hold up.")

Chërt (Russian) = the devil—"Chërt znaet! (Only the devil knows!)" or "Chërt vozny! (The devil take it!)

Dozhd (Russian) = rain—" 'S doschdelt. (It's raining.)"

Fladira, fladiere (French) = to flatter, to court a girl—"Meinst Du, ich fladier 'Dich ...? (Do you think I'm flirting with you?)"

Gor'ko (Russian) = bitter (At weddings people shouted "gor'ko" and the bridal couple had to kiss.)

Gulyat' (Russian) = play, celebrate, living devil-may-care, dawdle, waste money—"Wir haben g'hulait. (We really caroused.)"

Heide! Hei! (Turkish) = Come! Go! Forward!

Karaul, karavul (Turkish/Russian/Yiddish) = a call for help—"No han i aber Karaul g'schrie ... (That's when I called for help.)"

Khlopochnik (from Russian verb khlopotat') = to bustle about = busybody—"Die klaportiert den ganzen Tag. (She's constantly puttering around.)"

Khlopoty, "klapott" (Russian) = troubles, difficulties—"Mit dem hat sein Klapott" (He causes us nothing but trouble.)

Kryschka (Russian) = an end or a limit, in the sense of "Basta" or "That's enough." (When one has talked too long or made clumsy excuses, one says, "Nu kryschka!")

Mamlik (Romanian) = cornmeal mush (also translated as "a weak-willed person"): "Des isch a Mamlikhaufa ... (What a bunch of cowards!)"

Moire(s), "Mores" (Yiddish) = fear, dread—"Er hat Moires ... (He has his anxieties.)"

Muzhik (Russian) = peasant, a simple person—"Des isch halt a Muschik ... (What a simpleton.)"

Passleta(n) (French) = waste of time, a pastime

Plencha (Romanian) = to cry—"Was penscht Du scho' wieder ...? (What are you crying about again?)"

Podruchik (Russian) = arm-in-arm—"Er isch mit dem Mädle podrutschik ganga ... (He walked arm-in-arm with the girl.)"

Poshol (Russian) = Forward!—"Poschli! (Let's go!)"

Prost, prostoi (Russian) = simple, ordinary; "proste Leut" = ordinary people—"Bei mir geht es halt prost zu ... (My life is really ordinary.)"

Semechki (Russian) = sunflower seeds (also translated as trivialities, meaningless details—"Des sin mir sematschki ... (Those are mere trifles to me.)"

Shutka, shutke (Russian) = joke or prank—"Er versteht kei' Schutka ... (He has no sense of humor.)"