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Permanent link for this word: schmo

Nov 6, 2013

This week's theme
Words borrowed from Yiddish

This week's words
bupkis
schnozzle
schmo
pogrom
dreck

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

schmo or schmoe or shmo

PRONUNCIATION:

(shmo)

MEANING:

noun: A stupid, boring, or obnoxious person.

ETYMOLOGY:

A truncated form of schmuck (an idiot), from Yiddish schmok (penis). Earliest documented use: 1948.

NOTES:

The word is also used in the phrase Joe Schmo, as a more colorful synonym for John Doe.

USAGE:

"Just because I work at a bar does not mean I want to date every schmo that walks in here."
Joey Guerra; Bartender Confessions: Jodi Minear; Houston Chronicle (Texas); Dec 9, 2010.

See more usage examples of schmo in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. -Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President (1809-1865)

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