28 May 2015

tchotchke

[chahch-kuh]

noun, Slang.
1. an inexpensive souvenir, trinket, or ornament.

Origin of tchotchke

Polish

1965-1970, Americanism; < Yiddish tshatshke < Polish czaczko bibelot, knickknack (now obsolete; compare modern cacko with same sense, orig. dial.); of expressive orig.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the web for tchotchke
– The place is two floors of warehouse-style shopping, with every tchotchke you could imagine.

Word Origin and History for tchotchke
n. “tinket, gewgaw,” also (transferred) “pretty girl,” 1964, American English, from Yiddish, from a Slavic source (cf. Russian tsatska).

Today’s quote

I’m convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they’re stones that don’t matter. As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good.

– Maya Angelou

On this day

28 May 1867 – President Johnson signs a treaty with Russia to transfer Alaska to the United States.

28 May 1908 – birth of Ian Fleming, British author of the ‘James Bond’ novels.

28 May 1964 – establishment of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), which was founded with the purpose of liberating Palestine through armed struggle. It has since rejected violence and been recognised as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people by the United Nations.

28 May 1987 – West German, Matthias Rust, illegally flies his Cessna 172 from Finland to Moscow, landing in Red Square. Rust claimed that he wanted to build an imaginary bridge between the Soviet Union and the West. Rust was charged and convicted of hooliganism, disregard of aviation laws and breaching the Soviet border. He was sentenced to four years in a general-regime labour camp, but spent his imprisonment in the high security Lefortovo. During Rust’s imprisonment, US President Reagan and the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Mikhael Gorbachev signed an intermediate-range nuclear weapons treaty. As a sign of good faith following the signing of the treaty, the Supreme Soviet ordered Matthias Rust be released in August 1988.

28 May 2014 – death of Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Ann Johnson), American author, poet and civil rights activist. Maya wrote seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poems. She had numerous occupations, including fry cook, dancer, actor, director and journalist. Her civil rights activism saw her work with Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Born 4 April 1928.