schmaltzy

Alternative Spellings

schmaltsy, shmaltzy, shmaltsy

Definitions

• "Overly sentimental or romantic." (JPS)

Example Sentences

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

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

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).