lek un shmek

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Definitions

  • n. A quick taste; a small bite.

  • n. A small amount of something.

Example Sentences

  • “She served peanut-size hors d’oeuvres and too few of them. It was just a lek un a shmek!” (source)

  • “Anywhere else we’d call it an hors d’oeuvre, but here we call it a lek un a shmek – a nosh.” (source)

  • "A worker who does a job insufficiently gives you 'A lek un a shmek.'" (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Y אַ לעק און אַ שמעק a lek un a shmek or לעק און שמעק lek un shmek 'something worthless', lit. 'a lick and a pinch'

      • Who Uses This

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

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).

      Alternative Spellings

      leck un shmeck, a lek un a shmek, a leck un a shmeck

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