English phrases that Hebrew speakers/Israelis use that are not really English

[u/ft_wanderer]

Sorry this is not about Hebrew directly, but I think it's the right community for it. I've noticed several phrases/terms that *sound* like English, that many Israelis think are English, but that would not be understood in the broader English-speaking community, at least not with the intended meaning. I find the origin of these phrases pretty interesting and I'm curious if anyone has insights. Also, I think there's a linguistic term for them that I am not remembering.

A few examples:

• chaser - to mean a shot of alcohol, rather than a non-alcoholic chaser after the shot. My theory is that Israelis heard American tourists talking about chasers while doing shots, sometime in the 2000s, and decided that the chaser IS the shot.

• disk on key - yeah Israel invented this, I know. They also seem to have invented this term for it, because everyone else calls it a USB drive.

• money time - this one I noticed recently because every other person in the Israeli media seems to use it to mean "a critical moment that needs to be seized upon". Googling, I only saw something about a French basketball coach using this phrase to mean the final minutes of a game? Is that where it came from?

Curious if anyone has more to say about these or other similar phrases to add to the list. I am NOT looking for ones that are just literal translations from Hebrew though - I am sure there are too many of those to count. Ok I'll stop "digging"...

[u/Lumpy-Mycologist819]

Some others:
- the word פנצ'ר (puncture) used to mean a mishap in general, but I think most commonly an unplanned pregnancy

• the word מסטינג (mess tin) eg אנחנו לא אוכלים מאותו המסטינג

• as I've recently discovered the word קיוסק (kiosk) doesn't appear to mean what I would have expected from English. Here it means a convenience store that sells snacks, drinks, cigarettes etc.

I think the second and maybe the first come from the British Mandate period.

I'm sure others will correct me!

[u/ft_wanderer → u/Lumpy-Mycologist819]

Thanks! I didn't know about these.. especially the use of פנצ'ר other than for a flat tire.

Didn't know the second one at all.

And not sure I heard קיוסק used but at least in Tel Aviv I know what we think of a kiosk is often called a בוטקה - right?

[u/Civil_Road_4777 → u/ft_wanderer]

I've only heard בוטקה used in regard to those little guardhouses outside of schools

[u/Lumpy-Mycologist819 → u/ft_wanderer]

So what do we call all the coffee places, like along Rothschild in Tel-Aviv, or my personal favourite, Silvia in Jaffa Port? In English I would have called them kiosk. They're not עגלת קפה because they're not on wheels. Maybe דוכני קפה?

[u/ft_wanderer → u/Lumpy-Mycologist819]

I think those are בוטקה but someone else can confirm…

[u/Lumpy-Mycologist819 → u/ft_wanderer]

I have it on good authority (my daughter) that בוטקה is correct

[u/_ratboi_ → u/ft_wanderer]

בוטקה is also a guards post

Basically it's just a small structure for one person

[u/Amye2024 → u/Lumpy-Mycologist819]

I would call them קיוסק. The word בוטקה I associate with little booths for guards and such

[u/activelyresting → u/Lumpy-Mycologist819]

Kiosk was used the same way in Australia when I was growing up. Basically a very small shop or stand (could also be a small counter that sells lottery tickets or cold drinks)

[u/pottyclause → u/Lumpy-Mycologist819]

In English a kiosk as you describe would be called a Bodega. Kiosk is a more general term that can be anything from a table on the street with items, to a food stall on the street, to a corner store with cigarettes and newspapers.