shmutz

Alternative Spellings

shmuts, shmootz, shmoots, schmoots, schmutz

Definitions

• "Dirt, stain, or filth." (JPS)

Example Sentences

• "Brush your shirt off--you've got shmuts on it."

Languages of Origin

Yiddish

Etymology

שמוץ shmuts

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).
Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).