Weedwacker

חרמש חשמלי

I'm a silly person who likes to play with words. A clever pun can make my day.

I wrote the following email to the Academy of the Hebrew Language, on a day where there was heavy rain and we took the morning off. (Idle hands are the devil's playthings.)

Shalom,

I am an Oleh Chadash (new immigrant) from the United States. I'm volunteering in agriculture in the Gaza envelope. Yesterday I saw a machine that cuts weeds with a string that spins quickly. In English it is called a “weedwacker.” As an Oleh Chadash my Hebrew is not perfect, so I'm not sure if there is an appropriate word for this. However, with great humility, I suggest that in Hebrew we should call it a “Chutech” since it is a string (“chut”) that cuts (“chotech”).

With regards,

Eidan Jacob

Moshav Talmei Yosef

I enjoyed the fantasy of someone at the academy having to consider this stupid idea for about a week. And then the fantasy came true.

Dear Sir,

First of all, accept our appreciation for your service in agriculture at Talmei Yosef. Stay strong!

According to what I have seen on the internet, this tool is called an 'electric scythe.' The name scythe does not refer to the way of cutting (with a wire that spins quickly, and not with a knife) but it fits the essence of its operation.

Regarding your proposal 'Chutech' - it is a nice proposal, but there is a problem with it. In speech, it may sound like a mistake (since you don't see that it is written with Tet and not Taf [both letters that, in modern Israeli Hebrew, make a “T” sound]). Also, the form of “Chutech” has no recognized Hebrew significance. Therefore - [with] all the grace in the proposal - it is better to use the existing term.

But thanks for the offer!

What's incredible about this email, beyond the fact that I even got a response, is that it contains a rather basic error of a similar type to the Tet/Taf issue, which was pointed out to me by everyone I've shown it to. Near the end, עם was mispelled אם (both pronounced “eem”). So instead of writing “with all the grace” she actually wrote “if all the grace.”