megillah

megillah
/meuh gil"euh/; for 2 also Seph. Heb. /meuh gee lah"/, n., pl. megillahs, Seph. Heb. megilloth, megillot /-gee lawt"/.
1. Slang.
a. a lengthy, detailed explanation or account: Just give me the facts, not a whole megillah.
b. a lengthy and tediously complicated situation or matter.
2. (italics) Hebrew. a scroll, esp. one containing the Book of Esther. Others are the Book of Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, the Book of Ruth, and the Book of Lamentations.
Also, megilla.
[1950-55; < Yiddish megile lit., scroll < Heb magillah]

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also spelled  Megilla , Hebrew  Megillah (“Scroll”) , plural  Megillot 

      in the Hebrew Bible, any of the five sacred books of the Ketuvim (the third division of the Old Testament), in scroll form, that are read in the synagogue in the course of certain festivals. The Song of Solomon (Solomon, Song of) (Song of Songs) is read on the sabbath of Passover week, the Book of Ruth (Ruth, Book of) on Shavuot, Lamentations of Jeremiah (Lamentations of Jeremiah, The) on Tisha be-Av, Ecclesiastes on the sabbath of the week of Sukkoth, and the Book of Esther (Esther, Book of) on Purim. The reading of Esther on Purim is prescribed in the Mishna; other readings were introduced in post-Talmudic days.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • MEGILLAH — ( Scroll ), tenth tractate in the order Mo ed, in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. Megillah, in four chapters, deals with liturgical readings from the Bible, especially with the reading of the scroll of esther on purim… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • megillah — long, tedious, complicated story, 1957, from Yiddish (e.g. a gantse Megillah a whole megillah ), lit. roll, scroll, collective name of the five Old Testament books appointed to be read on certain feast days, from Hebrew meghillah, from galal he… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Megillah — may refer to: Bible: The Scroll of Esther (Megillat Esther), read on the Jewish holiday of Purim. Megillat Antiochus Rabbinic literature: Tractate Megillah in the Talmud. Megillat Taanit, a tannaitic document listing Jewish days of celebration.… …   Wikipedia

  • megillah — [mə gil′ə] n. [Yiddish < Heb megillāh, scroll, roll] Slang 1. a long or involved explanation, story, etc. 2. a complicated matter …   English World dictionary

  • MEGILLAH — (Heb. מְגִּלָּה; scroll ), designation of each of the five scrolls of the Bible (ruth , song of songs , lamentations , ecclesiastes , esther ). When the scroll is not specifically named, the term Megillah most commonly refers to the scroll of… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • megillah — [ma”gila] n. a long and complicated story. (From Hebrew megillah via Yiddish.) □ He struggled through this megillah and nobody believed him. □ Here you come in here with this megillah about a flat tire and how your brother in law stole your jack… …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • megillah — noun Etymology: Yiddish megile, from Hebrew mĕgillāh scroll, volume (used especially of the Book of Esther, read aloud at the Purim celebration) Date: 1943 slang a long involved story or account < the whole megillah > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Megillah — [mə gɪlə] noun each of the books of the Hebrew scriptures (the Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther) appointed to be read on certain Jewish notable days. Phrases the whole megillah N. Amer. informal something in its… …   English new terms dictionary

  • megillah — n A tediously detailed account. You don t have to give me the whole megillah, just the highlights. 1940s …   Historical dictionary of American slang

  • megillah —    (meh GIL lah) [Yiddish: scroll; Hebrew: the Book of Esther] An overly detailed account or narrative; an unnecessarily lengthy explanation.    The President and First Lady wanted it to be less of a megillah Time, January 20, 1997 …   Dictionary of foreign words and phrases

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