by 
pranuko
ANSWERS: 4
-
Usually spelled schmuck, it is from Yiddish and describes a person who is hopelessly inept or crude. The nearest equivalent I can think of is asshole.
-
Schmuck in Yiddish is the foreskin of a penis. It's a pretty strong insult, usually implying the utter uselessness of the person being insulted.
-
The word schmuck has become common in American English meaning a detestable person, or a jerk. The word also means a stupid or idiotic person. In these senses, schmuck entered English as a borrowed word from the Yiddish slang for foreskin, (Yiddish: שמ×ָק, shmok), where it is an obscene term and an insult. In his famous cultural lexicon, The Joys of Yiddish, Leo Rosten lists the Yiddish schmuck as related to the Slovene word, šmok, meaning "a fool, an innocent, a gullible dolt."
-
In Yiddish, "Schmuck" basically means "jerk," but it originally meant "penis." The funny thing about this is that in German, "Schmuck" means "jewelry." No etymological relation, even though many Yiddish words have German origins.
-
-
mushroom Yes, I was quite amused to see "schmuck" on a warning panel in a printer. I mean, there's better ways to get your jollies.
-
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC