Potrzebie
(Did you want the Stewart/Stark/White fanzine?)
| From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959 |
| ("poTREBZyeh") Word popularized by Mad Comics, in which it is used for any convenient part of speech and some that wouldn't occur to the unimaginative. It's actually a Polish word which in negative construction has the sense of "desire"; non-potrzebie, for instance, means unwanted. |
Actually, it’s a portmanteau of Yiddish.
The Yiddish used during Mad’s first decade was based on what the founders found to be the funniest-sounding words to evoke their parents’ humorous put-downs, including as ‘bveebleftzer’ and ‘farshimmelt.’
One example is the word ‘furshlugginer,’ derived from the Yiddish word shlogan (to hit). When finally asked by a reader what ‘furshlugginer’ meant, the editorial team replied: “It means the same as ‘potzrebie’ – ed.”This cued another long-running debate as to the meaning of ‘potzrebie,’ only answered by [co-founder Al] Jaffee in 2016. “It was an expression in Lithuania when I was a kid. Putz is genitals and is applied as an insult to the rebbe. It’s like saying, ‘Oh that stupid teacher’.”
—Jewish News (UK), July 5, 2019.
See also: Ferschlugginer.
| Fanspeak | 1950s— |
| This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc. |
