schmo

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English

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Yiddish, alteration of schmuck.[1]

Noun

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schmo (plural schmos or schmoes)

  1. A stupid, obnoxious, pathetic, or otherwise contemptible person.
    • 2008, Ben Yagoda, chapter IV, in When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It, Crown, →ISBN:
      The poor schmo would immediately break down and confess that he did a lot of other bad things as well.
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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See Joe Schmoe § Etymology; schmo in this sense may well be homonymic to schmo in the sense above.

Noun

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schmo (plural schmos or schmoes)

  1. Any average Joe; any Joe Schmoe.
    I'm just an average schmo
    • 2010, Dana Milbank, Tears of a Clown, New York: Doubleday, →ISBN, page 31:
      Of his early childhood, he told the Deseret News of Salt Lake City: “I'm a schmo. My family never made more than $25,000 a year. We're all bakers for generations.”

References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “schmoe”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.