Nick name..."youzek halotta"

gsiding	Edited by: Moderator Nov 22, 10, 21:40 #1
When I was growing up my dzia dzia called me "youzek halotta" (spelling it the way it sounds). Would like to know what it means an the proper spelling. My name is Joseph.

nikt	Nov 22, 10, 21:42 #2
Józek is diminutive form of name Józef (Joseph). I have no idea about "halotta"...

cheehawThreads: 9 Posts: 831 Joined: Oct 10, 09 ♀	Nov 23, 10, 06:47 #3
it means hell. like go to hell. I am not making that up. oh halletta, helletta, hallotta, whatever i heard it all my youthful years.. it's a swear word.

ZedThreads: - Posts: 304 Joined: May 25, 10 ♂	Nov 23, 10, 11:28 #4
Halotta? It certainly does not mean "hell". However it could be an equivalent of polish "cholera" with applied incorrect americanized spelling. Cholera is a relatively mild curse word. Means exactly that illness. It is however also used to name someone with "choleric" traits of character. E.g. "Józek, ty cholero! Nie drażnij kota!" = Józek, you spoiled brat! Do not tease the cat!

peterwegThreads: 35 Posts: 1,992 Joined: Feb 16, 07 ♂	Nov 23, 10, 12:21 #5
Cholera gives you the shits. So you could say its Joe you shit.

ZedThreads: - Posts: 304 Joined: May 25, 10 ♂	Nov 23, 10, 12:23 #6
shit? no such meaning is implied when you use this word in polish. Unless you are a doctor perhaps and really talk about disease.

cheehawThreads: 9 Posts: 831 Joined: Oct 10, 09 ♀	Edited by: cheehaw Nov 23, 10, 18:05 #7
yea well in our house it was 'aw haletta' all day long from my dad and we knew exactly what he meant. My grandmother used it like this.. 'Jesus (yay-zus she pronounced it) Maria, aw halletta' I think I heard that every day of my life till age 18 and I was very glad to get away from it and the anger that usually accompanied that phrase.

jonniThreads: 26 Posts: 4,181 Joined: Nov 27, 07 ♂	Nov 23, 10, 18:11 #8
cheehaw: 'aw haletta' all day Sounds like a euphemism for 'cholera', as already stated by Zed. You know the sort of thing - saying 'kurcze' instead of 'kurwa', or 'ja pierdziele' instead of 'ja pierdole'. Also sounds a bit like 'kaleta' - not a word you hear often, but Polish nonetheless.

cheehawThreads: 9 Posts: 831 Joined: Oct 10, 09 ♀	Nov 23, 10, 18:13 #9
well Zed is definitely wrong, Jonni.

KsysiaThreads: 39 Posts: 545 Joined: May 6, 09 ♀	Nov 23, 10, 18:13 #10
Zed: Halotta? It certainly does not mean "hell". However it could be an equivalent of polish "cholera" with applied incorrect americanized spelling. whatta theory! it reminds me of one blogger who was looking for Polish ancestors in the Ellis island books by explaining to himself that anything at all was americanized Polish spelling. hołota is riff-raff. 'joey air-head' he was calling you

♀

Edited by: cheehaw Nov 23, 10, 18:17 #11

I'd be willing to go along with that, But I did ask plenty of questions ( which often got me the 'aw halletta' response) and of course I asked the meaning of 'halletta' and I was told simply it means 'hell'.

Check into any polish bar in any polish neighborhood and you will hear that phrase repeatedly (aw halletta) because it's very common. they aren't talking about cholera. They are laughing and joking and sometimes arguing when they use it.

henrysonThreads: - Posts: 36 Joined: Oct 28, 10 ♂	Nov 23, 10, 18:19 #12
shit? no such meaning is implied when you use this word in polish. Unless you are a doctor perhaps and really talk about disease. Wrong! Where do you think the word "gówniaż" comes from? It means "little shit" Halotta would not mean hell. It's either misspelled or refers to a character in a movie or book, perhaps a folk hero.

cheehawThreads: 9 Posts: 831 Joined: Oct 10, 09 ♀	Nov 23, 10, 18:22 #13
and quite possibly it sounded like "youzek" when actually he was saying "youzef" or Jozef.

ZedThreads: - Posts: 304 Joined: May 25, 10 ♂	Nov 23, 10, 18:22 #14
O cholera! is a typical relatively mild swear word indeed. I stand by my previous interpretation

KsysiaThreads: 39 Posts: 545 Joined: May 6, 09 ♀	Nov 23, 10, 18:24 #15
that's puzzling - hollerrra would be much more fun as a swear word than howota.

Oskar	Nov 23, 10, 18:26 #16
How about hołota meaning a disorderly person (or group of people)

cheehawThreads: 9 Posts: 831 Joined: Oct 10, 09 ♀	Nov 23, 10, 18:28 #17
holota only works for me when followed by fun.

henrysonThreads: - Posts: 36 Joined: Oct 28, 10 ♂	Edited by: henryson Nov 23, 10, 18:29 #18
It's also possible that babcia told dzia-dzia not to use swear words in front of grand kids, so he substituted cholera for holotta, a word he or someone else made up. How about hołota meaning a disorderly person (or group of people) Good point. Hołota usually refers to a group, but could be used to describe a person.

nikt	Nov 23, 10, 18:41 #19
henryson: dzia-dzia why do you say dzia-dzia not dziadek? dzia-dzia is something like 2 y.o. kids who can't properly speak say. There is dziadek and babcia not dzia dzia and babusia

smigly wilno

Nov 23, 10, 19:26 #20

My nieces and nephews starting calling my dad "dzia-dzia" when they were little and the name stuck. It got to the point where even my mom would call him "Dziadz" instead of Bołek or Bołeslaw. Names and nicknames stick.
I usually heard "Cholera" used in conjunction with "Psie krew" (psha' kref). This was more of a curse, i.e. Psie krew! Cholera! .....Dog's blood! Cholera!
Tavern talk is just that. So many times the stuff you hear now is just the repetition of what was said during earlier years. It's not used so much as a curse, but a word of agreement or astonishment, like "gheez" or "gee whizz". (I repeated it ONCE when I was little, and out came the brown soap.)

henrysonThreads: - Posts: 36 Joined: Oct 28, 10 ♂	Nov 23, 10, 21:07 #21
why do you say dzia-dzia not dziadek? dzia-dzia is something like 2 y.o. kids who can't properly speak say. There is dziadek and babcia not dzia dzia and babusia I believe the term was used in the original post. That's how gsiding referred to his grandfather. Nothing wrong with calling your grandparents babcia, babusia, busia, dzia dzia or whatever else people want to call them.

cheehawThreads: 9 Posts: 831 Joined: Oct 10, 09 ♀	Nov 23, 10, 22:17 #22
look on the bright side. At least no one ever called him Lady Gaga.

♀

Edited by: asik Nov 23, 10, 23:20 #23

gsiding:

When I was growing up my dzia dzia called me "youzek halotta" (spelling it the way it sounds).
Would like to know what it means an the proper spelling. My name is Joseph.

Youzek proper spelling Józek as someone mentioned, it's diminiutive form of Józef (Joseph).

cheehaw:

it means hell.

like go to hell.

I am not making that up.

oh halletta, helletta, hallotta, whatever i heard it all my youthful years.. it's a swear word.

Did you ever confront your relative about this name calling?? What makes you so sure it means or that it is connected with "hell". It's not even Polish word . "Hell" in Polish is "piekło".

I'd say "halotta" could mean "cholera" or "cholewa" a mild swear word, like when you call someone in a distress eg. "Józek, cholera (or cholewa)" when you are afraid "Józek" is going to harm himself because of his way of playing or doing stuff.

♀

Nov 24, 10, 02:42 #24

asik:

Did you ever confront your relative about this name calling?? What makes you so sure it means or that it is connected with "hell". It's not even Polish word . "Hell" in Polish is "piekło".

it was rarely directed at me.

Not my business, but the word definitely means hell according to my mother. Maybe some sort of old slang or american polish slang, who knows.

the more relatives in the house, the more hallettas per hour.

just the way it was. doesn't mean they didn't love each other., it's just how they talked.

"Al get the garbage!" ... ... "aw haletta"

heh.

KsysiaThreads: 39 Posts: 545 Joined: May 6, 09 ♀	Nov 24, 10, 16:44 #25
do they really use ho-le-ta? maybe they use ho-le-vah? cholewa is often used as a milder substitute for cholera. if not, then it must be American slang...

cinekThreads: 1 Posts: 264 Joined: Nov 16, 07 ♂	Nov 25, 10, 11:04 #26
cheehaw: but the word definitely means hell according to my mother I think your mother just meant that that word is used the same way 'hell' is used in English (as a swear word). But it may not be a direct translation. The same way as Polish 'kurwa' is often translated as 'fuck', which is definitely not a direct translation of words but a translation of an 'emotional expression'. Cinek

ZedThreads: - Posts: 304 Joined: May 25, 10 ♂	Nov 25, 10, 12:58 #27
Hell has been piekło in polish since middle ages. Cholewa would never be transcribed with -tt- in english. Then again "cholera" would.... in american english that is.

henrysonThreads: - Posts: 36 Joined: Oct 28, 10 ♂	Nov 25, 10, 18:21 #28
gsiding When I was growing up my dzia dzia called me "youzek halotta" (spelling it the way it sounds). Was it in Poland, UK or US?

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