History YiddishAsASecondLanguage / LiveACtionTV

** There's a subversion in the fifth-season episode "[[MeaningfulName 38 Across]]", where Hawkeye spends the entire half hour seeking the Yiddish word for "bedbug" in order to finish a crossword puzzle. Father Mulcahy suggests he "ask Shapiro", but [[SouthernFriedPrivate Private Shapiro]] tells him in a classic cornpone accent that his family's lived in the DeepSouth for seven generations and he hasn't a clue ([[TruthInTelevision since Jews in the American South are generally descended from German Jews, who considered Yiddish a low-class corruption of German]]). Doubly subverted in that Hawkeye finally gets the answer from a whitebread WASP Admiral who tags along when a friend of Hawkeye's misinterprets a call for help on the puzzle as a medical emergency.

* Fuji, of ''Series/McHalesNavy'' used "Oy Vey" as his main CatchPhrase, despite being born and raised in Japan.

** ''House'' also presents us with Cuddy's incredibly {{Jewish mother}}, who isn't even Jewish. (She converted, but seems to have gone whole-hog; it rather reminds one of a certain [[Film/TheBigLebowski Walter Sobchak]]).

* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in one episode of ''Series/NorthernExposure'', Joel Fleischman finds out that the local Indian tribe has adopted several Yiddish words and phrases into their native language, due to the influence of a 19th Century Jewish doctor who joined the tribe and became one of their heroes. When the ''very'' Jewish Dr. Fleischman starts casually using Yiddish with the local Indians in an attempt to connect with them, he's told (by them) to knock it off because he sounds like a poser.

* As a New Jersey Jew, Jon Stewart frequently uses this trope on ''Series/TheDailyShow'', but reprimanded Brian Williams for using one too many Yiddish words in an interview:

** The correspondents, however, have been granted Y-word privileges, and Jewish stories often have John Oliver or Jessica Williams speaking Yiddish every third word while Jon Stewart [[{{Corpsing}} corpses]] all over the anchor desk.

** Parodied in the episode, "Merry Christmas Mrs. Moskowitz," where (as part of a FawltyTowersPlot) Frasier needs Niles to pretend to be Jewish for reasons too complicated to explain. Niles takes the job to heart, liberally injecting common Yiddish words into the conversation.

** In one episode, even London uses some Yiddish when she mentions she celebrates Hannukah (for the extra presents).

** ''House'' also presents us with Cuddy's incredibly [[JewishMother Jewish]] mother, who isn't even Jewish. (She converted, but seems to have gone whole-hog; it rather reminds one of a certain [[Film/TheBigLebowski Walter Sobchak]]).

** The Italian Charlie Luciano is childhood friends with his Jewish partner and confidant Meyer Lanksy. Their bond is so great that he'll address Lanksy in Yiddish and Lansky will respond in Italian, such as this exchange:

** In "Application Anxiety," townspeople are trying to figure out what unnamed resident is requesting permission to build a soda shop when one of them realizes it is the same town leader who introduced the discussion:

* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': During "Movie Tonight," the entire camp has been snapping at each other due to stress. Then Col. Potter announces there'll be a movie being shown that night.

* Munch only occasionally used Yiddish on ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'', although he did once teach it to Kellerman for his own amusement. It did, however, come in handy after he switched over to ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', when they suspected a Rabbi of sexual misconduct and he fled New York to a Jewish community upstate where even the cops were Jewish and decided to shelter him. When Munch and Stabler arrive their local police contact is told (In Yiddish) to keep them away from the synagogue, and Munch overhears and thus deduces where the Rabbi is being hidden.

** Manny Horvitz repeatedly calls Jimmy [[VerbalTic boychik]], which Jimmy hates.

---> '''Stewart:''' What's with the Yiddish tonight? What's with the -- "shmaltzy", and the "just gave me a little schpilkis, but" -- "I took my punim over there", bing bang boom -- \\

--> '''Stewart:''' Somewhere in upstate New York, a rabbinical college is laughing their asses off.

--> '''Rufus''': (serious) I think he's been schtupping Blair Waldorf.

-->'''Woman''': He says you should fuck your grandmother with your faggot penis.
-->'''Sebso''': Little faggot penis.

-->'''Luciano''': ''Meshuge bisl yingl.'' (Crazy little kid.)
-->'''Lansky''': ''Che cose potente fare?'' (What can you do?)

-->'''Lorelai''': "Poodle" is another funny word.
-->'''Emily''': Please drink your drink, Lorelai.
-->'''Lorelai''': In fact, if you put "oy" and "poodle" together in the same sentence, you'd have a great new catchphrase, you know? Like, "Oy with the poodles already."

-->'''Luke Danes''': What other ''putz'' would wanna open up an old-fashioned soda shop?
-->'''Taylor Doose''': Dispense with the Yiddish, young man.

-->'''Frank''': A movie! Won't that be great?
-->'''Hawkeye''': Oh, Frank, it's just a movie. ''[Frank leaves]'' Ohboyohboyohboy a movie! I'm so excited I could plotz!

-->''(Will and Grace are arguing [[ItsAllAboutMe in the midst of Joe and Larry's wedding]])''
-->'''Will:''' You might as well be my wife.
-->'''Grace:''' What? "Marcus Welby's my wife"?
-->'''Will:''' No! You ''might as well be my wife,'' deaf-o.
-->'''Grace:''' I can't hear anything over that [[ForeignCussWord verkakte]] harp.

-->'''Audra:''' And between your folks' divorce; And that haircut on you; I'm really not sure; Which one's the bigger shondeh.
-->'''Rebecca:''' That means "disgrace"; I'm translating for the goys.
-->'''Rebecca:''' That tough act's a bluff; So sheket bevaka shut the fuck up[[note]]sheket bevakasha is actually Hebrew for "quiet, please."[[/note]]

* ''Series/GetShorty'': In spite of taking place in Hollywood, there are no significant Jewish characters. To get around the fact that YouHaveToHaveJews, the show reveals Jewish influence around the edges of Hollywood, such as the fact that the studio uses a courier service called "Easy Schlep."

* The opening credits from ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'' begins with the title characters chanting the immortal verse

* ''Series/{{Casualty 1906}}'' has a lot of of Yiddish in it, hardly supprising due to the very high Eastern-European Jewish population of London and the fact that The London has Hebrew Wards.

-->'''Lorelai''': In fact, if you put "oy" and "poodle" together, in the same sentence, you'd have a great new catchphrase, you know? Like, "Oy with the poodles already."
** In "Application Anxiety," townspeople are trying to figure out what unnamed resident is requesting permission to build a soda shop when one of them realizes it it the same town leader who introduced the discussion:

* In ''Series/TrophyWife'' the youngest child Bert starts doing this, to the confusion of the rest of the family, who have no idea where he's picking it up.

-->'''Audra:''' And between your folks' divorce; And that haircut on you; I'm really not sure; Which one's the bigger shondeh
-->'''Rebecca:''' That means "disgrace"; I'm translating for the goys
-->'''Rebecca:''' That tough act's a bluff; So sheket bevaka shut the fuck up[[note]]sheket bevakasha is actually Hebrew for "quiet, please"[[/note]]

* ''Series/ThePlotAgainstAmerica'': Since this is the 1940s, most Jewish characters speak a smattering of Yiddish. Evelyn curses at the antisemitic Henry Ford in Yiddish ("gay kocken offen yom"), but doesn't know what it means ("Go shit in the ocean").

** Lorelai does a whole riff on the humorous value of the word ''oy'' in one episode, announcing it as the funniest word in the world, able to be topped only by one comic move:

** Then there's the SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} from "Broadway Limited", where Prohibition Agents Van Alden and Sebso are interrogating a gravely injured Jewish gangster in the middle of a public dentist's office. He growls something at Van Alden and the nice lady in the corner gasps in shock. Van Alden orders her to translate word for word:

* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' has 'The Yada Yada' episode, where Tim Whatley converts to Judaism for the jokes. He uses a few Yiddish words in the episode.