I was backstage at Lyric Opera, watching Mime (Dennis Petersen) forging the sword of Sigfried in Das Rheingold, when I asked Eric (one of the stage managers):
Dutchman: Did he say “schumck?”
Eric: (Worried) I don’t think so.
(Just then, Dennis came off stage, and so I asked him.)
Dutchman: Were you singing about a schmuck?
Dennis: I was singing about a really big schmuck!
Eric: (now really worried) Oh!
Dutchman: What?
Eric: Do you know what that means?
Dutchman: In German? Yeah, schmuck means “jewel.”
Eric: Oh! Well, in Yiddish is means something else …
Dutchman: Really, what?
Eric: Just — something else.
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