putz

English

Etymology 1

From Yiddish פּוץ (puts, “jerk, fool, penis”), probably a noun derivative of  (putsn, “to clean, shine”); compare early modern German butzen (“to decorate”), modern German putzen.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pʌts/, /pʊts/
• Rhymes: -ʌts

Noun

putz (plural putzes)

1. (slang) fool, idiot
2. (slang) jerk
3. (slang) penis

Alternative forms

• putz-head (also putz head or putzhead), a personal insult

Verb

putz (third-person singular simple present putzes, present participle putzing, simple past and past participle putzed)

1. (slang) waste time

   Stop putzing around.

Etymology 2

From Pennsylvania German putz; compare archaic German Putz (“ornament, decoration, finery”), putzen (“to clean; decorate”).

Alternative forms

• Putz

Noun

putz (uncountable)

1. A decoration or ornament in the Nativity tradition, usually placed under a Christmas tree.
   • 1995, Joe L. Wheeler, Christmas in My Heart, Book 4, pages 12-13:

     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.

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Portuguese

Interjection

putz

1. (slang) Used to emphasize something that has gone wrong.

   Putz, meu carro quebrou.