putz
/pʌts/
Meaning
A fool, an idiot.
To go around viewing the putzes in the neighborhood.
To waste time.
The penis.
A fool, an idiot.
A decoration or ornament in the Nativity tradition, usually placed under a Christmas tree.
A jerk.
To waste time.
The penis.
A fool, an idiot.
A decoration or ornament in the Nativity tradition, usually placed under a Christmas tree.
A jerk.
Examples
“The excitement of our friendship made me overlook my vampire powers.” “Hi.” “My foreskin grew back very fast. Now he thinks I'm meshuggener, which means he thinks I'm a little bit of a putz.”
And, (4), we’re not really even seeing “characters” at all: it’s not Major Frank Burns, pathetic self-important putz from Fort Wayne, Indiana; it’s Larry Linville of Ojai, California, actor stoic enough to endure thousands of letters (still coming in, even in syndication) from pseudo-voyeurs berating him for being a putz from Indiana.
Stop putzing around.
The American custom of erecting a putz seems to have originated with the Moravians but the custom long ago spread to non-Moravian households. Essentially, the putz is a landscape, built on the floor or on a table or portable platform.
Once all good Moravians in Bethlehem went putzing between Christmas and Twelfth Night to take a look at their friends' cribs.
Word Forms
putzes
putzing
putzed
Putz
Etymology
Borrowed from Pennsylvania German Putz; compare German Putz (“ornament, decoration, finery”), putzen (“to clean; decorate”). Compare the above.