Dictionary

kishke en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈkɪʃkə/

Etymology

Attested in English since the late 1930s, from Yiddish קישקע (kishke), from Slavic—Polish kiszka, Russian кишка́ (kišká), or Ukrainian ки́шка (kýška). Ultimately from Proto-Slavic *kyšьka (“intestine, stomach”). May be related to Sanskrit कोष्ठ (koṣṭha, “intestine”) or Ancient Greek κύστις (kústis, “bladder”).

Meanings

1. A dish made from stuffed intestine.
   • Now what is cholent without "kishke"? Our mothers made kishke from the small intestine of a cow. They filled it with stuffing, spices and Shmaltz (chicken fats). 2012, David H. Chanofsky, Burnt Offerings: A Rabbi's Memoir, iUniverse, page 118:
   • Zelik the Benefactor's wife was the queen of kishke. Her kishke melted in your mouth. It always came out brown and shiny, like chestnuts fresh from the tree. 2015, Vilna without Vilna, in Helen Mintz (translator), Abraham Karpinowitz, Vilna My Vilna, Syracuse University Press, page 20
   • 2023, June Hersh, Iconic New York Jewish Food, Arcadia Publishing, page 133, It might seem a stretch, but kishke—a hard-to-find, old-school deli item—was actually considered a sausage, as it was an encased ground stuffing. Kishke is a combination of grains, veggies, schmaltz (chicken fat) and sometimes meat.
2. (also, figuratively, in-plural, informal, often) Intestines, guts.
   • Subsequently she was over the toilet all night throwing up. ‘My kishkas came out from that thing! Some practical joker!’ 1969, Philip Roth, Portnoy's Complaint:
   • The Hamas episode won’t help Obama’s attempts to win over Jewish voters, particularly those in such places as—to pull an example from the air—Palm Beach County, Florida, whose Jewish residents tend to appreciate robust American support for Israel, and worry about whether presidential candidates feel the importance of Israel in their kishkes, or guts. 2008 May 12, Jeffrey Goldberg, “Obama on Zionism and Hamas”, in The Atlantic:
   • Oy a broch! I was so worried! I knew something was wrong. In my kishkes, I could feel it!
   • Moira is another one who shleps her kishkes out spending time with Henry. 2004, Howard Jacobson, The Making of Henry, Random House (Vintage), page 330:

Forms

Synonyms

blood pudding · stuffed kishke · blood sausage · guts · gut · stuffed derma · derma · stomach