If my mother wanted to say "all dressed up," she said fahpeetzt. My mother-in-law said fahpootzt. It all depends on which shtetl your bubbeh came from.
I haven't seen this for what, 30 years? It will be old stuff to some of you, and new to the rest of you. Leo Rosten, in "The Joys of Yiddish," illustrates the importance of inflection. Here the questioner is asking whether he/she should attend a concert being given by a niece. The meaning of the same sentence changes completely, depending on where the speaker places the emphasis:
I should buy two tickets for her concert? - meaning:, "After what she did to me?"
I should buy two tickets for her concert? - meaning: "What, you're giving me a lesson in ethics?"
I should buy two tickets for her concert? - meaning: I wouldn't go even if she were giving out free passes!
I should buy two tickets for her concert? - meaning: I'm having enough trouble deciding whether it's worth one.
I should buy two tickets for her concert? - She should be giving out free passes, or the hall will be empty.
I should buy two tickets for her concert? - Did she buy tickets to our daughter's recital?
I should buy two tickets for her concert? - You mean, they call what she does a "concert"?
Rosten writes that there are other linguistic devices in English, derived from Yiddish syntax, which subtly "convey nuances of affection, compassion, displeasure, emphasis, disbelief, skepticism, ridicule, sarcasm, and scorn."
Mordant syntax: "Smart, he isn't."
Sarcasm through innocuous diction: "He only tried to shoot himself."
Scorn through reversed word order: "Already you're discouraged?"
Contempt through affirmation: "My partner, he wants to be."
Derisive dismissal disguised an innocent interrogation: "I should pay him for such devoted service?"
Fearful curses sanctioned by nominal cancellation: "May all your teeth fall out except one, so that you can have a toothache, God forbid."
Note from Mollie: It's easier if you ever lived with an immigrant grandparent. We did, but only for a few months, and he wasn't very talkative. Or, put more appropriately: "Talkative, he wasn't."
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