by notmrjohn on May 25th, 2005
"bupkes" (also spelled bubkis, bupkis and bubkes, I didn't find any dictionaries that spelled it "bupkus",like you did, but that means bupkes) is a Yiddish word meaning "beans." For a long time beans have been considered objects of little value, so bupkis means "nothing." Bupkes is often used in the sense of "you got nothing when you should have gotten at least something if there were any justice at all in this world. " Or as people around here,who tok reglar tok 'stead of Yiddish tok,sez, "Shoot far, Wilber Dean, I done spent months rustlin' and sellin these yere cattle and I din't git beans fur 'em." Even worse than bupkes is "bupkes on bupkes." Because of the influence of Yiddish on New York and of NY on theater and Yiddish Theater on General Theater, bupkes became a widely used term in showbiz, and thus on society in general.
by Kenda7 on May 25th, 2005
bubkes also bupkes or bupkus . . . . noun plural but singular in construction [Yiddish (probably short for kozebubkes, literally, goat droppings), plural of bubke, bobke, diminutive of bub, bob bean, of Slavic origin; akin to Polish bb bean]
What is the origin of the word 'Blimp'? Wasn't it originally called a dirigible?
by Ed the Jetpacking Headbanger on November 2nd, 2008
| 5 people like this
Do you think it behooves us to retain antiquated words in our vocabulary? (I love that word - behooves)
by dea_ex_machina on April 13th, 2009
| 8 people like this
Why doesn't anyone use the term 'bastard' for what it actually means anymore?
by Former ABer on September 15th, 2009
| 1 person likes this
What is a bodega?
by 에가오노겐키 on August 4th, 2009
| 3 people like this
What name is given to both a short jacket and Spanish dance?
by keithold thanks all baggers on January 18th, 2009
| 7 people like this
Your favorite Q&A site is on Facebook! Become a fan to connect with the ever-growing community of Answerbaggers, share your thoughts and find out what Answerbag's up to next!
Comments