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Am I being a putz here?

A reader didn't like this headline.

Well, to be accurate, he didn't like the headline that was in the paper this morning: "Presenting the putz."

I was very interested in Tina Firesheets' article in the Life section this morning. This was because the word "putz" was new to me. However, research at dictionary.com revealed that the definition of the word is "fool" or "jerk", if the word is used as slang.

He suggested here that the word is also a vulgar term for a part of the human body. Then he wrote:

It appears that the word means a miniature village only if the word "Christmas" immediately precedes it.

Did some editor miss this?

The answer is no. It is true that we don't know all the coarse terms for human body parts, although I submit we know most of them. Instead, putz is used correctly and non-offensively in the story and headline.

The term putz may be obscure in common language when it refers to a Christmas village, but it isn't to Moravians. From Wikipedia: In early-colonial American Moravian homes, the construction of a nativity scene, or putz, at the base of a Christmas tree was a very common holiday activity. The term was derived from the German verb putzen, which means "to clean" or "to decorate." These nativity scenes soon became very elaborate, and often included sawdust or fine dirt spread to represent roads leading to the manger; stones and fresh moss to represent grottos or caves; and sticks and branches to represent miniature trees.

Is it appropriate for a headline? I think so. One of the purposes of a headline is to get a reader's attention and draw him or her into the story. This did that.

Did it bother any of you?

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Tags: Readers, Headlines

Posted by John Robinson on Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 4:32 pm

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Amanda Lehmert

December 1, 2009 - 5:04 pm EST

It didn't bother me, but it confused me.

It is probably best to stay away from using words in headlines that require people to get out a disctionary.

SueP

December 1, 2009 - 5:15 pm EST

As I mentioned to you on twitter earlier today, it was an amusing headline. I think a headline writer could have defined the word in the headline (creatively) and avoided all of this. An ounce of diction prevention...

Doug Johnson

December 2, 2009 - 5:57 am EST

That's what the Russians called Obama.

cfrail

December 2, 2009 - 10:00 am EST

I thought the subhed did a good job of making the meaning clear, though, as did the photos - and after reading the main headline, you couldn't help but keep reading to see what we were talking about.

Dogwood

December 5, 2009 - 12:41 pm EST

The complainers mind needs a putzen. Tina Firesheets is one of my favorite N&R employees. Her work is thoughtful and good. Old Salem is a historical village and is full of thought and care. There are no strip joints in the historical area. There was a brother's brewery but it burned down about 250 years ago.
Christmas shines in Old Salem and is a gift of love. See the beauty please.

Andrew Brod

December 6, 2009 - 11:10 pm EST

I'm coming late to this discussion, but I thought the headline was funny. "Elaborate putz?" That's hilarious, and not even remotely offensive in my view. I forwarded the article to a number of my fellow Jews. I must say, I've known a number of putzes, but not a single one of them was elaborate.

The etymology is interesting as well. As the article notes, "putz" derives from the German verb to clean or shine, but it's come to mean a kind of decoration to Moravians. The word "schmuck" derives from a German verb to adorn or decorate. So we have two Yiddish words for "penis" that are related to "decoration." I'm not sure what that says about us Jews, but I think it's funny too.

Get A Clue

December 8, 2009 - 7:18 pm EST

Damned if you do and damned if you don't. How rarely does the opportunity arise for those who write headlines to show off the fact they can also be cunning linguists? With no malice toward others, I flinch when the word 'niggardly' is trotted out, if only because that richly-layered word is too often a facile cover for someone who thinks he's 'clever' when he's simply acting as would an adolescent racist. That's a shame, because that word's etymology is as rich and descriptive as that of 'putz.'