Schmäh
Appearance
Bavarian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle High German smæhe, from Old High German smāhi. Alternative proposals are Yiddish שמע (shma, “tale; the things heard”), and Rotwelsch Schmee (“cant, lie, fine humour”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]Schmäh m (plural Schmäh) (chiefly Austria)
- harmless lie
- Geh, des is doch a Schmäh. ― Come on, that's a lie.
- (derogatory) deception, trickery, tricks, swindle, lie, con
- Mit dem Schmäh håm's dena Leit is Göd aus der Tåschn zogn. ― They wheedled money out of peoples' pockets with this con.
- Geh, schleich di mit dein Schmäh. ― Bugger off with your tricks.
- (derogatory) hollow phrase; empty promise; large talk or idea without substance
- De Politiker derzöhn eh nur lauter Schmäh. ― Politicians only spout hollow phrases anyway.
- Dånn woa des ois nur a Schmäh? ― It was all empty promises then?
- chit-chat, small talk
- Mim Schaffner in der Båhn håmma immer an kurzn Schmäh. ― We always have a quick chit-chat with the conductor on the train.
- Månche Leit woin ned nur wås kaufn im Gschäft, sondern ah a bissl an Schmäh fiahrn. ― Some people don't just want to buy something in the shop, but also want to have a bit of small talk.
- humour, joke, banter; sense of humour
- Der håd an leiwandn Schmäh. ― He's got a great sense of humour.
- Nå, heid rennt der Schmäh. ― The jokes are going back and forth today.
- charms; wit; blarney; a relaxed, cheerful, humorous, yet grumpy and cynical attitude towards life (often considered untranslatable)
- Den Oidn muasst min Schmäh påckn, dånn geht des scho. ― You have to turn on your charm on the old man and it'll work out.
- Der Wiener Schmäh is sicher gwehnungsbediaftig. ― You certainly have to get used to the Viennese Schmäh.
- Mit a bissl an Schmäh kummst leichter durchs Lebn. ― A little bit of Schmäh makes life easier.
Hyponyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]Schmäh m (strong, genitive Schmähs, no plural)
- shrewd talk, astute interaction, trick
- 2018, Roland Girtler, editor, Girtler unterwegs: Gespräche mit sieben Zeitgenossen[1], Wien: Böhlau, Der Beginn des Fiakerfahrens – als Frau unter interessanten Männern:
- Früher waren die Fiaker zu den Fiakerfahrerinnen sehr böse. Sie sagten, dass eine Frau nicht auf einen Kutschbock gehöre. Nach und nach lernten die Fahrer doch die Vorteile durch die Frauen zu schätzen, denn mit ihnen lief der Schmäh besser.
- In the past, fiacre drivers were very hostile towards female fiacre drivers. They said that women didn’t belong on a coachman’s box. Gradually though, the drivers came to appreciate the advantages of having women drivers, as they were better at engaging with customers.
- humour, joke
- 2021, “Franziska Singer & Amrei Baumgartl: Darf's ein bisserl Mord sein?”, in Falter[2]:
- Bei aller Ernsthaftigkeit und Respekt dürfen natürlich Witz und Wiener Schmäh nicht fehlen – denn schließlich kann man nur mit Humor die schlimmsten Dinge im Leben bewältigen.
- For all its seriousness and respect, wit and Viennese charm must not be forgotten — after all, humour is the only way to cope with life’s greatest challenges.
Declension
[edit]Declension of Schmäh [sg-only, masculine, strong]
Related terms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]Categories:
- Bavarian terms inherited from Middle High German
- Bavarian terms derived from Middle High German
- Bavarian terms inherited from Old High German
- Bavarian terms derived from Old High German
- Bavarian terms borrowed from Yiddish
- Bavarian terms derived from Yiddish
- Bavarian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Bavarian lemmas
- Bavarian nouns
- Bavarian masculine nouns
- Austrian Bavarian
- Bavarian terms with usage examples
- Bavarian derogatory terms
- German terms derived from Bavarian
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio pronunciation
- German lemmas
- German nouns
- German uncountable nouns
- German masculine nouns
- German terms with quotations