ThingsPondered

Dictionary of Wilzbach-isms

Since my mother came from a partially German-speaking family, many of our household words were some sort of colloquialisms or creations with a Cherman flavor.  I hope relatives who may remember more of these Wilzbach vocabulary words will add to the list.

I have guessed at spellings.  Generally, in my renditions both a “u” and the “oo” are pronounced as the “u” in “put,” such as “Put the milk back in the refrigerator.”

Bruntz = brunts  (verb) to urinate

Brunser = BRUN-zer  (noun) a boy

Brunshilda = BRUNZ-hil-da  (noun) a large woman or large girl.  Think Valkeries.

Futsnipper = [pronunciation exception: U is pronounced as the “u” in “cut.”] FUT-snip-per  (noun) a person who is delaying things by obsession with minor details.  Literally, it means fart-cutter.

Goonk = gunk (noun) nose mucous

Grootzely = GRUT-sul-lee (adjective) annoyed, irritable, out of sorts

Machs nichts = mox NIX (sentence) it doesn’t matter, it makes no difference

Runtz = runts (noun) a mischievous, joke-playing yet lovable person

Runtzing or runtz  (verb) = making light-hearted mischief

Schlutz cloth = SHLUTS-cloth  (noun)  a blanket used by a toddler for comfort when going to sleep, for accompaniment to thumb sucking.  In the A & T Morgan household, it was a specially designated old, clean cloth diaper.

Schmecks = shmeks (sentence) With voice going up at the end of the word, it is a question: Does it taste good?  Or with voice staying level or dropping at the end of the word, it is a statement:  It tastes good.

Stroobled = STRUB-uld (adjective) messed up, especially for appearance such as hair or clothing

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