schmear

Where does the word "schmear" come from? It comes from Yiddish shmirn, and was adopted directly into English (1960s).

Schmear’s story begins in Yiddish: shmirn meant “to smear, to spread.” To smear, to spread, related to German schmieren. It reached English by 1960s as schmear. Yiddish 'shmirn', to smear; 'the whole schmear' means everything. Today, schmear means a spread of soft food such as cream cheese, or informally, the whole works.

1. Stage 1 · Yiddish · 1800s shmirn "to smear, to spread", to smear, to spread, related to German schmieren.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1960s schmear "a spread, especially of cream cheese, or the whole of something", Yiddish 'shmirn', to smear; 'the whole schmear' means everything.