verklempt

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish פֿאַרקלעמט (farklemt, “depressed, distraught; choked up”). The English spelling was influenced by the German prefix ver- corresponding to Yiddish פֿאַר־ (far-). German verklemmt (“uptight”, literally “jammed”) is formally cognate, but semantically unrelated; a closer match is beklommen (“anxious, despondent”). Popularized by a 1990s sketch comedy series.