''Hakn a tshaynik'' (literally "to knock a

teakettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a device specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle''. There are two main types: the ''stovetop kettle'', which uses heat from a cooktop, hob, and the ...

"; Yiddish: האַקן אַ טשײַניק), meaning to rattle on loudly and insistently, but without any meaning, is a widely used

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...

atic phrase.''

Born to Kvetch ''Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All Its Moods'Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All Its Moods'', Michael Wex, St. Martin's Press, New York, 2005, ''Born to Kvetch'' (Audio CD). is a 2005 book by Michael Wex d ...

'',

Michael Wex Michael Wex (born September 12, 1954) is a Canadian novelist, playwright, translator, lecturer, performer, and author of books on language and literature.St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 2005, It is most often used in the negative imperative sense: ''Hak mir nisht keyn tshaynik!'' (literally "Don't knock a teakettle at me!"; Yiddish: !האַק מיר נישט קיין טשײַניק), in the sense of "Stop bothering me!". Aside from the

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

of the subject of the

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

, making meaningless noise as if he/she were banging on a teakettle, the phrase gains from the imagery of the lid of a teakettle full of boiling water "moving up and down, banging against the kettle like a

jaw The jaws are a pair of opposable articulated structures at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth ...

in full flap, clanging and banging and signifying nothing"; the less the contents, the louder and more annoying the noise. The phrase became familiar to many Americans without contact with Yiddish speakers by appearing in popular

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

short films. In the 1936 film ''

A Pain in the Pullman ''A Pain in the Pullman'' is a 1936 short subject directed by Preston Black starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 16th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures s ...

'', when caught sneaking out of their rooms without paying rent, Moe tries to explain to the landlady by saying, "Well, we were just on our way to hock the trunk so we could pay you," to which Larry kicks in, "Hey, hock a chynick for me too, will ya?", earning himself a swift kick in the shin. In 1938's '' Mutts to You'', Larry, disguised as a Chinese laundryman, pretending to speak

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

, utters a stream of Yiddish doubletalk, ending with "''Hak mir nisht keyn tshaynik'', and I don't mean ''efsher'' (maybe)!" The phrase has become relatively common in English in half-translated forms such as "Don’t hock me a chainik", to the point where shortened versions of the phrase, such as "You don't have to hock me about it!" proliferate on television and the movies, particularly where the speaker is intended to represent a resident of

, even if not Jewish. On ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...

'', Toby Zeigler says to

Sam Seaborn Samuel Norman Seaborn is a fictional character played by Rob Lowe on the television serial drama ''The West Wing''. From the beginning of the series in 1999 until the middle of the fourth season in 2003, he is deputy White House Communications ...

, "what are you hocking me for?", referring to Toby's New York Jewish background.

References

{{Onesource, date=June 2008 Yiddish words and phrases