Literally meaning "don't bang away at me like the lid on an empty kettle", the phrase "hakn a tshaynik" was tossed around freely when I was little. But, mainly I remember it in Yinglish (Yiddish-English) as "quit hakkin' me a tshaynik". I've since found that every culture has an idiom for the elders to tell the young people to shut-up.
Also, my grandmother never learned the English name for tea kettle; it was always, "Give me the tshaynik" or "Shut off the tshaynik". . . so my mother thought that 'tshaynik' was English for 'tea kettle' until she was well into her 20's.
Mishegoss Clown, acrylic on cd, 4.5" diam., 2007
me·shu·gaas or mish·e·gaas or mish·e·goss (m
sh
-gäs
)
Also, my grandmother never learned the English name for tea kettle; it was always, "Give me the tshaynik" or "Shut off the tshaynik". . . so my mother thought that 'tshaynik' was English for 'tea kettle' until she was well into her 20's.
Mishegoss Clown, acrylic on cd, 4.5" diam., 2007me·shu·gaas or mish·e·gaas or mish·e·goss (m
sh-gäs)
n. Slang
Crazy or senseless activity or behavior; craziness.
