Every wondered where the express Moishe Kapoyr comes from? You’re not alone.

Would you be able to explain the origin of the Yiddish expression, Moishe Kapoyer, used, to the best of my knowledge, to describe someone who always appears to do things in a way diametrically opposed to they way they should be done? Thank you very much.

Kapoyr means upside-down. The original Moyshe Kapoyr was a character created by the columnist B. Kovner, who had a humour column in the Forverts; Moyshe would always do exactly the opposite of what you would expect a person to do in a given situation.

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