Letters: Ghandi's Watch Pocket

(4 of 5)

Just read in TIME (Sept. 28) that "kibitzer'' is a "Yiddish colloquial term." Kibitz or Kiebitz is the German name for peewit or lapwing. This bird has the reputation of warning other birds at the approach of hunters. Hence its application to spectators who make nuisances of themselves at card games. . . . English-speaking Davenport skat players have used the terms to "kibitz," "kibitzing," and "kibitzer" to my knowledge for over 30 years just as they use other German technical terms necessary in playing skat.

Speaking of words, "cumshaw" (generally pronounced commishaw) is not restricted to shipping men. Chinese servants in the East are all accustomed to getting cumshaw. The Chino cook buys the groceries for the household and if he does not get his cumshaw from the dealer at the end of the month, he buys elsewhere. This practice is generally considered quite ethical. "Cumshaw'' is Pidgin English and evidently is derived from "commission."

GEORGE BRAUNLICH Davenport, Iowa

Frances Willard at College

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