am ha'aretz
A Hebrew phrase — literally 'people of the land' — used in Jewish cultural and religious contexts as a mild insult meaning an ignorant or uneducated person, particularly one ignorant of Torah and Jewish law.
Definitions
A Hebrew phrase — literally 'people of the land' — used in Jewish cultural and religious contexts as a mild insult meaning an ignorant or uneducated person, particularly one ignorant of Torah and Jewish law. In modern Israeli and diaspora Jewish slang it is typically deployed in a teasing or exasperated register to describe someone who doesn't know something they arguably should. Can range from affectionate ribbing among friends to genuine contempt depending on delivery.
You didn't know that Yom Kippur is a fast day? What are you, an am ha'aretz?
Comments
A Hebrew phrase literally meaning people of the land, used in Jewish cultural and religious contexts as a slang insult for an ignoramus — someone who is uneducated or oblivious, particularly in religious matters. The term has a long history in Jewish texts, shifting from a neutral description of common people to a term of intellectual condescension. Used in American Jewish communities, often with wry humor.
He could quote the Talmud all day but couldn't cook a meal to save his life — a total am ha'aretz in the kitchen.
Comments
(Jewish, _, slang) An ignoramus.
"am ha'aretz" means: An ignoramus.. This is informal slang, common in casual speech, texting and social media, but not appropriate for school work, applications or professional settings. There is no real cause for concern in itself; it is everyday peer vocabulary. If your child uses it, a light comment about audience and register is usually enough — no need to escalate. Context, more than the word, tells you whether to follow up.
"am ha'aretz" means: An ignoramus.. Register: informal slang, fine in casual conversation, texting and social media but not in academic essays, business writing or formal speech. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
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