bupkis

Etymology

Borrowed before 1931 from Yiddish באָבקעס (bobkes), the plural of באָבקע (bobke, "goat or sheep dropping"), itself from באָב (bob, "bean") plus ־קע (-ke), calquing Polish bobek ("oval-shaped turd"), which ultimately goes back to Proto-Slavic *bobъ ("bean, fava bean"). It was popularised by American Jewish writer Sam Denoff in the mid-1960s show The Dick Van Dyke Show.