meshugaas

n. Slang.

Crazy or senseless activity or behavior; craziness.

[Yiddish meshegas, from Hebrew məšuggā‘. See meshuga.]

That's crazy! New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd employs a yiddishism in a scathing attack on President Bush's policies, at home and abroad:

"You'd think that by now, watching the meshugas in Iraq, the Bush crowd would have learned some lessons about twisting facts to suit ideology, and punishing those who try to tell the truth."

Link: Bike-Deep in the Big Muddy

Posted August 28, 2005.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

[Yiddish] /mish eh GOSS/  lit.  insanity, madness; usu. used in a lighter vein