shnoz

Alternative Spellings

schnoz, shnaz

Definitions

• "A nose, especially a large, unattractive one." (JPS)

Example Sentences

• "Our family has a very distinctive shnoz!" - my Dad says this of our family

Languages of Origin

Yiddish

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 JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

Notes

Origin unclear: likely from German schnauze ('snout') (Rosten 268); Bluestein (103) says Yiddish and English ("shnoltsl" influenced by "nozzle")