Shkoyach, Reb Noach
When someone does you a favor, a possible response is “Shkoyach.”
“Can you please pass the gefilte fish?”
“Sure.”
“Shkoyach.”
What does shkoyach mean? Although it is obviously not a real word, the closest actual definition based on spelling might be “forget it.” So a conversation might go something like this: “I would like to pay you back the thousand dollars I owe you.” Your answer, “Shkoyach (forget it!)” Of course, the intended conversational definition is usually something close to “good job.” However, people have varied uses for the word.
An individual’s brother became a chassan; someone wished him “shkoyach.” It is unclear what the intended usage was there. Sometimes, shkoyach is used derisively – as in when someone hears an ad on the radio asking the listener to donate his used car to Heritage for the Blind, he responds shkoyach. Perhaps someone might say shkoyach when he sees an ad for a solar-powered flashlight. (Now, why didn’t I think of that!)
Many know that shkoyach is just a short way of saying “yasher koach,” which means “straight strength.” Sounds funny, right? The real term intended is “yeeshar kochachu,” which the Schottenstein edition of the Talmud translates as “your strength should be true,” a blessing intended to wish the recipient continued strength.
Who coined this phrase? Hashem did!
It is mentioned in Yevamos 62a. Reish Lakish expounds the words “[the Tablets] that you [Moshe] broke” to be a reference to Hashem’s statement to him of “yeeshar kochachu that you broke.” Hashem was informing Moshe Rabbeinu of His approval of the breaking of the Luchos by giving him this bracha. However, most people do not intend to give a bracha when they utter “shkoyach.” They just intend it as “job well done.”