This is a question for the Germans out there.
I was on the Germany Amazon site (.de) and looked at the categories. One that caught my eye was "Schmuck." I know that as a curse word. A German to English translation says it means "jewelry."
Is that the right translation? Any idea how it ended up to be a curse word, as in "You're a schmuck" which I think means "You're a dick." And I always thought "schmuck" was a Yiddish (Jewish) word.
as a curse, it is "schmock" in German
Schmuck as in jewelry has its root in old german.
Das Wort 'Schmuck' hat denselben Ursprung wie das Wort Geschmeide, das wie mittelhochdeutsch gesmîdec (leicht zu bearbeiten, gestaltbar, geschmeidig) und althochdeutsch smîda (Metall) von der germanischen Wurzel smi (in Metall arbeiten) stammt.[1]
The word "Schmuck" has the same root as the word jewellery, that has the same root from midll-high-german "gesmidec" (easy to work with, shapeable, supple) and old high german "smida" (metal) from "smi" (work with metal)
jewellery
I thought the word was derived from "jew" since many were jewellers. There weren't a lot of vocations like farmer jews were allowed to follow. Most non-jews were farmers and they didn't want competition from jews at those jobs.
Schmuck, or shmuck, in American English is a pejorative term meaning one who is stupid or foolish, or an obnoxious, contemptible or detestable person. The word came into the English language from Yiddish (Yiddish: שמאָק, shmok), where it has similar pejorative meanings, but where its literal meaning is a vulgar term for a penis.
(stolen from Wiki)
For what it is worth, the Wiki also discusses the German word and its etymology as well, but it is not listed as the basis for the Americanized version of this term.
from Yiddish (Yiddish: שמאָק, shmok), where it has similar pejorative meanings, but where its literal meaning is a vulgar term for a penis.
Yep, that's how I know it growing up in NYC.
So supporters of Tottenham Hotspur, who call themselves the 'Yid Army' are actually calling themselves the 'Penis Army'.
I seem to recall that Thomas Mapother III and Katie Holmes called their sprog 'Suri' because they considered it a fine Jewish name, but in Japanese it allegedly means 'buttocks' ;)
AJ
If Suri is jewish, I presume the fringe on the top has been removed..?
Internet groan winner of the day!
So supporters of Tottenham Hotspur, who call themselves the 'Yid Army' are actually calling themselves the 'Penis Army'.
No. "Yid" is German for "Jew." "Sdhmuck" with various spellings, is Yiddish for "penis." "Yiddish" meant once, or so I have read somewhere, German printed in the Hebrew alphabet. But it's now also applied to a German dialect which is antiques in several ways.
Yep, that's how I know it growing up in NYC.
Yep, it's a common phrase thereabouts, though most 'American' uses of the term originate from New Yorkers usage (ex: Woody Allen movies).