עַל טַעַם וְרֵיחַ אֵין לְהִתְוַכֵּחַ (Al Ta'am VeRe'ach Ein Lehitvake'ach) — there's no accounting for taste

Etymology

Avraham Shlonsky (1900–1973) was one of the most prolific innovators of the modern Hebrew language, though the exact attribution of his "thousands" of neologisms remains a subject of lexicographical debate. While many words were incorrectly credited to him in Yaakov Knaani's 1989 dictionary, Shlonsky was responsible for fundamental modern terms like kaba'i (firefighter), bimuy (directing), and rokhsan (zipper). Shlonsky himself often displayed a cavalier attitude toward the "paternity" of his words, claiming he cared little for who received credit so long as the word served the language.

However, the idiom Al ta'am ve're'ach ein lehitvake'ach was an innovation Shlonsky held in particularly high regard. It is a Hebrew calque of the Latin De gustibus non est disputandum ("In matters of taste, there is no disputing"). Shlonsky published the phrase in the literary journal Ketuvim during the late 1920s or early 1930s. He later recounted with great pride how he heard two women in a Tel Aviv marketplace using the phrase naturally in an argument just months after its publication—a moment he described as being in "seventh heaven," as it proved his literary creation had successfully descended into the "mouth of the people."

The phrase replaced more archaic or clumsy traditional expressions, becoming a staple of Israeli Hebrew. Shlonsky's success with this idiom and others lay in his ability to take European concepts and find a phonetic and rhythmic "Hebrew-ness" that felt natural to native speakers, often utilizing biblical roots or associations to anchor the new terms.

Key Quotes

"מָה פִּתְאוֹם חַיָּבִים הַכֹּל לָדַעַת אַבְהוּתָהּ שֶׁל מִלָּה? מָה זֶה מְעַנְיֵן מִי חִדֵּשׁ לֶחֶם? בָּשָׂר! תֶּרַח! מִכְנָסַיִם!" — אברהם שלונסקי, מעריב, ינואר 1960

"עַל טַעַם וְעַל רֵיחַ אֵין לְהִתְוַכֵּחַ! אֲדוֹנִי! חִדּוּשׁ לְשׁוֹנִי זֶה פִּרְסַמְתִּי בְּ'כְתוּבִים' כַּמָּה חֳדָשִׁים לִפְנֵי כֵן! אֵיךְ הִסְפִּיק כְּבָר לָרֶדֶת לָרְחוֹב?" — אברהם שלונסקי, בראיון לרפאל בשן

Timeline

• 1921: Shlonsky coins rashan (tadpole) in his translation of "The Frog," his first recorded innovation.
• 1927: Bimuy (directing) and bamai (director) are introduced in Ketuvim.
• 1930: Shlonsky introduces the phrase Al ta'am ve're'ach... and the bird name yas'ur (petrel) in Ketuvim.
• 1933: The word rokhsan (zipper) is coined by Shlonsky.
• 1940: Shlonsky introduces tzofar (siren) as a Hebrew alternative to the international "sirena."
• 1989: Posthumous publication of Milon Hidushai Shlonsky by Yaakov Knaani.

Related Words

• כַּבַּאי — firefighter, coined by Shlonsky in 1928.
• רוֹכְסָן — zipper, coined by Shlonsky in 1933.
• פִּרְסֹמֶת — advertisement, one of Shlonsky's major contributions to the modern lexicon.
• צוֹפָר — siren, adapted by Shlonsky from a biblical personal name.