Hi

I didn't see the show but I am reading about it on Oprah's website. The makeover are superb. The only problem I have is the price of the clothing is out of most woman's reach. We couldn't afford one of them never mind a closet full.

Maripat

Rachel, you are sooo right. A shlumpadinka is then one who is a slob or slovenly. There are many more words that come from the root shlump..... shlumpish, shlumpy, etc. Mimi - Boardman, OH

When Oprah said that she'd coined the term "schlumpadinka" and that she didn't quite know how she came up with it, I felt a bit erased. Now that it's being pointed out to her, it would be lovely if Oprah would acknowledge that actually this is a Yiddish word - shlumpadik. My husband said, when I told him about the show, "I have another term Oprah can invent: Oy vey."

obviously oprah knows a lot of jews and has picked yiddish expressions over the years. i've heared her use other yiddish words too. there is a lot of yiddish used in movies and television...like "tush" or "tuchis", "oy", "chutzpa"..etc..

NOPE!! Oprah did not make up Shlumpadinka.The word is actually Shlumperdik and I think she needs to make a public correction. You just can't go around saying you made up a word. This is from the online Yiddish dictionary; Shlumperdik - Unkempt, sloppy

Actually, there is a yiddish word Shlumperdik, which means: messy, sloppy, untidy; the effects of being a shlump. I was very disappointed in Oprah that she announced on national TV that she was responsible for the word shlumpadinka. She may have added the dinka to it but she did not make up this word. I have used it my whole life and learned it from my grandparents who spoke yiddish fluently.

I'm so glad someone commented on this!! Oprah's certainly an innovator of enormous influence, but the word "shlumperdika" (as an adjective) has been used in the Jewish lexicon FOREVER!!

From the Yiddish dictionary:
Shlump - Careless dresser, untidy person; as a verb, to idle or lounge around
Shlumperdik - Unkempt, sloppy

There are many English word of Yiddish origin -- Oprah's is merely a modification. Elise

Rachel is right, shlump is a yiddish word for a slob,i.e. "She's a shlump!"
But shlumpadinka sounds like a corruption of the adjective which would be 'shlumpadicha',i.e. 'She keeps a shlumpadicha house'.
So it will come into English as shlumpadinka which is now obviously a noun indicating a person [particularly female] who does not pay much attention to how they dress. If Oprah popularizes it we all know that's how people will remember it. That's okay but I hope she doesn't Oprahize other wonderful yiddish words which have come into the popular lexicon like tush, kvetch,maven and others.

I'm so happy that others have been talking about this. Oprah really should make a public correction.She sure doesn't stand for dishonesty in others. And while it may have been an innocent mistake, now that she has been called on it she needs to respond.I can't believe that no one on her staff knew this and didn't anyone in her audience speak up "after the show'? I still can't believe that she actually thinks she made up a word.All she did was mispronounce a word.Mispronounciation does not make it your own. She must apologize to every Jewish Grandma who called their kids Shlumpadikas waaaaaaaaaaay before Oprah was born. Keep this thread going till she responds

oprah dahlink, i am seventy years old and can remember my grandmother telling me i looked like a shlumpadink the first time she saw me in "dungarees". remember those? it has been a word forever as far as i know, and that cute little grandmother came over from russia with the hope of freedom and equality for everyone. she and my grandfather taught us this every day of their lives; not only in words, but in deeds. i don't consider myself a russian american or a russian jew. i am an american, a lover of and defender of freedom of spirit, religion, thought and choice among other inalienable freedoms and rights; lucky enough to have been a recipient of these freedoms and rights because my grandparents had to flee persecution and execution. i am eternally grateful for that and will endeavor to "make them proud". so, dahlink, i am proud to hear that endearing word, that brings back a flood of wonderful memories of my cherished grandparents, as often as possible. wabbit

I'm here to add my voice to those asking Oprah to make a public correction for having "invented' the word/idea 'shlumpadink.' I also grew up with the word shlumpadik (or shlumperdich is another way to pronounce it). My Yiddish-speaking grandparents, parent and everybody we knew growing up used the word. She may have misheard it somewhere a long time ago, but to appropriate it and say you invented the word is really wrong and I think a little hurtful to Jewish folks. Oprah, you need to give credit where credit is due. Otherwise I may just have to resort to calling you a shmendrick and a schnorrer. Google those! Not so nice.

I am grateful that more people are calling Norah on this one. It is unbelievable that she would take credit for this word and was so proud of the fact that she "doesn't know how she came up with it". It amazes me that her producers and writers wouldn't have the guts or the smarts to tell Norah she is not that clever to have coined this word. Norah needs to do a show on Jewish grandmothers and the Yiddish language and how this language is to precious to let die. Then she would learn the meaning of Chutzpah! <SCRIPT language=JavaScript> <!-- var SymRealOnLoad; var SymRealOnUnload; function SymOnUnload() { window.open = SymWinOpen; if(SymRealOnUnload != null) SymRealOnUnload(); } function SymOnLoad() { if(SymRealOnLoad != null) SymRealOnLoad(); window.open = SymRealWinOpen; SymRealOnUnload = window.onunload; window.onunload = SymOnUnload; } SymRealOnLoad = window.onload; window.onload = SymOnLoad; //--> </SCRIPT>

I couldn't believe my ears when Oprah took credit for making up shlumpadinka. It's like Al Gore claiming to invent the Internet. It would be great if she would publicly acknowledge the Yiddish origin of the word and that she mis-pronounced it. Nice to read all the other comments. Have never been moved to write before, but this really got my goat. Oy vey!

It doesn't REAlly matter where the word originates. If we went into ancient history THAT deeply, we'd discover most of our language should be credited to someone or some culture.

We DRAMAtise EVERYthing, make issue with sooo much around us ... JUST BE for goodness sake! Life's challenging enough without all the righteousness and the 'wanting to prove a point'.

There is nothing new under the sun. If we take heed of that, as human beings we will continue to enjoy the feeling of thinking we invented stuff.
Whether schlumpadik is a yiddish word or not, its a GREAT word.

Thank you Oprah for 'modernising' it!!!