bagel, noun

Forms:
Also beigel, beygl.
Origin:
English, YiddishShow more Special sense of general English bagel, from Yiddish beygl, a hard, ring-shaped bread-roll.
A (usually derogatory) nickname given to a young Jewish man of the moneyed class who affects a distinctive nasal mode of speech and flashy dress. Cf. kugel. Also attributive.
[1957 D. Jacobson Price of Diamonds 51‘Not a gentleman at all,’ he called Gottlieb, and a beigel, a traitor.]
1981 J. Mullins in Fair Lady 2 Dec.A male kugel is called a bagel...[He] gets his name from a round piece of dough with a space in the middle. He originates in Johannesburg and as soon as he is mobile he migrates to 1st Beach, Clifton...Bagels are round as the result of too much spoonfeeding, too many trips to the fridge, and living too near to a delicatessen.
1984 Argus 10 July 15Further on a kugel and her bagel whined past. ‘Lissen, doll.’
1986 Style June 61No bagel this one so he avoids the lion’s tooth slung on a gold chain resting on a hairy chest.
1988 Sunday Times 3 Apr. (Mag. Sect.) 42‘Don’t worry,’ he said, seeing her concern. ‘I can tell you’re going to take to this like a kugel to a bagel.’
1989 M. Brand in Fair Lady 25 Oct. 93These buzz words have gone decidedly off. You run the risk of being mega-unfash if you use them..Amazing. Bagel. Camp..Kugel (borderline case) [etc.].
A (usually derogatory) nickname given to a young Jewish man of the moneyed class who affects a distinctive nasal mode of speech and flashy dress.
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19571989