Senator Alfonse D'Amato called challenger Charles Schumer a "putzhead" during recent campaigning for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by D'Amato. D'Amato says he used "a common New York expression that means you're foolish."

Schumer, the Democratic challenger, says that "putz" is a Yiddish word for "penis" and is very offensive. That would mean that D'Amato referred to Schumer as a "penishead."

In an exclusive News Briefs "Man-on-the-Curb" interview in downtown New York, we checked out the reaction to D'Amato's slur. "He called Schumer a what," asked Vince Linguini. "A penishead? What's wrong with that? Hell, my wife calls me much worse than that routinely."

Cliff Armstrong told us, "He better get used to it. My elected officials would think they had it made if all I called them was 'penishead'. If he wants to be an elected official, he needs to get thicker skin, ya know? If he can't handle this, how's he going to handle some commie taking off his shoe and pounding it on the podium?"

We asked businesswoman Beth Kline her opinion. "Is Schumer making a big deal out of D'Amato calling him a 'penishead'. He needs to get over it. I just paid a cabbie $32 and he called me a 'BLEEP BLEEP bitch'. I'd say Schumer got off easy."