Dear Cory:

I recently heard the term ‘chachka’ for the first time. Will you define this for me?

-Badger State Homemaker

Dear BSH:

Chachka is a Yiddish term for a gew-gaw, bit of bric-a-brac, useless ornament, etc. Think ceramic poodles. While Cory is not of the Jewish persuasion—indeed (and this may be more detail than you care for) he is one of the heathen uncircumcised—Yiddish is certainly a mine of quaint expressions.