If there is one Yiddish word I feel like I embody more than any other, it is “klutz.”
I have always felt like a klutz: dropping things (I type this as I contemplate fixing yet another iPhone with a cracked screen), knocking into things (I have a mysterious bruise somewhere on my body at all times) and forgetting things (RIP so many lost sweaters).
I feel like I embody the very spirit of klutz.
Wait, “Klutz” is a Yiddish word?
Yes, klutz is a word that comes from the old tongue of Ashkenazi Jews. It originates from “klotz,” which literally means “wood beam.” Honestly, that feels perfect to me, because when I’m being my klutziest self it seems like my body — and sometimes my mind — feel wooden and awkward and unwieldy.
A klutz is a clumsy, awkward or foolish person. You can watch Mayim Bialik explain the word perfectly here:
@mayimbialik Today’s Yiddish Word of the Day is klutz! Betcha didn’t know this was Yiddish! Or did you? 🤔
Klutz in pop culture
Klutz became a popular English word in the 1960s in the United States, and has only risen in popularity since. It’s so ubiquitous now that I doubt many people know about its Yiddish roots.
Acts like The Three Stooges and Jerry Lewis made being klutzy a comedic staple. There are a few iconic Jewish klutzes on TV — Josh Peck’s Josh Nichols in “Drake and Josh” and David Schwimmer’s Ross Geller in “Friends” come to mind — but pop culture’s biggest klutzes are arguably very much not Jewish. Some of the biggest pop culture klutzes include Charlie Chaplin and Lucille Ball, Chevy Chase and Chris Farley on “SNL,” Melissa McCarthy’s comic characters and Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean.
My husband says the klutz character, to him, is more WASP-coded than Jew-coded. Maybe there’s something about Jewish characters that have to be a bit more cerebral and cautious, and so when they’re clumsy, they’re acting more nebbishe (timid or meek) rather than giving off big, “stumble all over the place and break everything” energy.
Klutz and crafts books
However, “klutz” isn’t just a word associated with being clumsy; it’s also the name of a company of books of crafts and DIY kits that’s now under the Scholastic umbrella. Their name does come from the Yiddish word, though! It was inspired by the first book that started the company, “Juggling for the Complete Klutz,” which came with a bunch of juggling balls with the word “klutz” written on each them. The book came out in 1977 and was written by John Cassidy and B. C. Rimbeaux, two of Klutz’s co-founders. It was published out of Palo Alto, California.
“For us [being a klutz] is a positive thing,” Netta Rabin, the company’s (Jewish!) creative director shared in an interview last year. “I don’t consider myself a klutz, I’m pretty coordinated, I’m a dancer — but I’m a klutz at heart. I’m klutzy because I’m not always good at everything right away. I’m kind of a perfectionist, I like to have everything look perfect, it’s a little annoying, but learning how to embrace and be OK with failure… really helps kids develop creative confidence.”
Klutz as a good thing
I love thinking that being a klutz is about learning to embrace failure as part of life. A klutz is a person who tries to put themselves out there even when they feel awkward and imperfect. So here’s to my fellow intrepid klutzes who go out there every day, risking material loss and injury, and do their very best. We’re klutzy! And that’s a good thing.
