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There's also schlemiel, an unlucky bungler, chump; schmo, a jerk (see schmuck); and schmaltz, sentimental or florid art or music ( schmaltzy the more popular usage). And, of course, schnozzle, nose, which Jimmy Durante Italianized to come up with "De Ol' Schnozzola". Then there's schnook, which really can't be traced to the Yiddish, but...a stupid or unimportant person, dolt. These are all in the English dictionary now, BTW. And all these words are so much fun to say, I guess that's why they were co-opted from Yiddish and stay alive! "Don't be such a schmuck!" "Hey, you big schlemiel!" "Yeah, it's kinda schmaltzy, but so what, it's Christmas!"
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also ... schmaltz, sentimental or florid art or music (schmaltzy the more popular usage)
Literally, "schmaltz" is chicken-fat. "Schmaltzy" music or art is smooth (lots of glissandos) and oily and verging on greasy or oozing (compare "Oozing charm through every pore, he oiled his way about the floor..." describing Zoltan Karpathy - My Fair Lady).
There's a lot of allegorical derivation in the Yiddish words. "Schmuck" is German for jewelry, and it isn't hard to arrive at the "family jewels" connotation (testicles, and while that's not exactly the literal translation, it's not far from it, either).
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veteran
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Can you think of other examples?
The true trademarks of artistic performance are transcendent, wwh, don't you agree - so far beyond imitation that any attempt, however inspired, however affectionate and well-intentioned, can only serve to make the loss of the original the more poignant ... and painful.
What hallmarks of artistry come immediately to mind, incandescent through all the decades? The elegance of Cary Grant. The rakishness of Errol Flynn. The chicanery of WC Fields. The coquettishness of Marilyn Monroe. The sultriness of Edith Piaf. The princeliness of Laurence Olivier.
When asked to explain cubism, Bracque said: "The only thing that matters in art is the part that can't be explained." It is also the only thing that can't be reproduced.
P.S. Can't think of the showbiz term for these trademark traits, wwh. Does the same term apply to songs which are recognized as the exclusive property of a particular singer ... like Frank Sinatra's "That's life."? Others can offer a rendition of "That's life" .. if they dare to attempt it. Only Frank can inhabit "That's life".
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When asked to explain cubism, Bracque said: "The only thing that matters in art is the part that can't be explained." It is also the only thing that can't be reproduced. - plutarch Well said Bracque. Well said plutarch. "Why," milum asked, "does this definition of Art sound familiar?"
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I'm confused. I didn't see anywhere that Plutarch used Braque's words as his own.
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Sorry wwh, I wasn't clear... Braque: "The only thing that matters in art is the part that can't be explained." Plutarch: "It is also the only thing that can't be reproduced." Milum: "Why does this definition of Art sound familiar?" Sorry Mr. Bill, me, milum, was obscurely referring to my unheralded definition of Art as was posted on the Art thread over in "Announcements and Information". Sorry. But hey, one gathers rosebuds while the iron is hot.
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obscurely referring to my unheralded definition of Art
Sure that wasn't 100% Dixie Dew Chopping Whiskey you were being a-mused by, Mr. Minderbinder, sir?
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Pooh-Bah
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Schtick is the closest I can come up with, although it doesn't directly imply any sort of proprietary nature, but rather business done by a performer as described above. You could talk about an actor's "trademark _______" I guess but it doesn't satisfy our quest for one word.
I had a Jewish friend who gave me a funny description of the meanings of schlemiel and schlamozzel:
"The schlemiel is the clutz who spills hot soup down the back of the neck of the schlamozzel." i.e. One is a bungling idiot and the other is perpetually a luckless victim of circumstance. Sorry to overstate the obvious...
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Beg to differ regarding Jerry Collona's trademark -- not his big eyes or his splendiferous moustache but rather the looooooong note he would hold in every song he sang. Remember? And Groucho's schtick was that painted-on moustache which was always there "in performance" where the duck-walk was just an occasional bit.
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<straightens tie, shrugs shoulders, googles eyes, grimaces>
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