schmaltzy

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Pronunciations

schmaltzy (SCHMAHL-tzeeh) listen

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Definitions

  • adj. "Overly sentimental or romantic." (JPS)

Example Sentences

  • "I didn't like the last movement of the Rachmaninoff--too schmaltzy."

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Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • שמאַלציק shmaltsik 'fatty, greasy' (from שמאַלץ shmalts 'rendered fat') (the -y ending may be a nativized English version of the Yiddish -ik ending)

      • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
      • Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa
      • Australia / New Zealand

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

      Alternative Spellings

      schmaltsy, shmaltzy, shmaltsy

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