schmegege

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Pronunciations

schmegege (shmih-GEH-gee) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A silly, stupid person.

  • n. A loser; petty person.

  • n. An untrue story.

Example Sentences

  • "My neighbor was such a schmegegge."

  • "I think of a shmegegge as a cross between a shlimazl and a shlemiel—or even between a nudnik and a nebekh." (Rosten)

  • "And to Miriam he said, 'if you, Miriam, don't take him in hand and make a man of him, then he will be a shmagege forever, and you two can put away your teeth and be prepared to starve'" (source)

  • “Don’t give me that shmegegge!” (NJY)

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Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • שמעגעגע shmegege 'a petty person'

      • Who Uses This

      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
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      Alternative Spellings

      shmigege, shmegege, schmegegge, shmegegge, shmagegeh, shmeggegge, schmeggegge, shmagegie, shmaggegie, shmageggie, shmaggeggie, schmagegie, schmaggegie, schmageggie, schmaggeggie, shmegegie, shmeggegie, shmegeggie, shmeggeggie, schmegegie, schmeggegie, schmegeggie, schmeggeggie, shmegegee

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