THE FIRST WORD

bupkis

PRONUNCIATION:

(BUHP-kis) 

MEANING:

noun: Absolutely nothing; worthless.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Yiddish, short for kozebubkes (goat droppings), from bub/bob (bean). Earliest documented use: 1937.

NOTES:

The word is also spelled as bobkes, bubkes, bopkes, bupkes, bupkus, bubkis, bubkes, etc. The English equivalent of the term is beans, as in: He doesn't know beans about computers.

USAGE:

"Sorry, your stock options are worth bupkis."
Nancy Davidson; The Secrets of Lost Cats; St. Martin's Press; 2013.