[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Re: Sayings and Tales

[Jan Textor]

Al <albertr7 at juno.com> wrote:

> I remember Gramma (from Russian Poland) repeatedly saying "Ach du
> lieber," as mentioned already by several people.

I think this is short for "Ach du lieber Gott" which is a common German
expression used to express dismay or astonishment at something.

> My grandmother sometimes referred to her husband's eldest brother as a
> "Schlump."
> He was the one who got the family farm and remained in Europe as far as
> we know.
> Does the word mean something like a "slob."  She usually wasn't critical
> of any of the rest of her husband's family so I've sometimes wondered if
> this was a colloquial-ism used mainly in Russian-Poland.

The German word "Schlump" has several meanings.  One of them is, as you
suspected, a slob or slovenly person.  I don't think that this word was used
mainly in Russian-Poland.

Jan Textor, Denmark