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schmalz

 - 4 dictionary results

schmaltz

[shmahlts, shmawlts]
–noun
1. Informal. exaggerated sentimentalism, as in music or soap operas.
2. fat or grease, esp. of a chicken.
Also, schmalz.


Origin:
1930–35; < Yiddish shmalts or G Schmaltz; c. smelt 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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schmaltz also schmalz   (shmälts)   
n.  
  1. Informal

    1. Excessively sentimental art or music.

    2. Maudlin sentimentality.

  2. Liquid fat, especially chicken fat.


[Yiddish shmalts, animal fat, sentimentality, from Middle High German smalz, animal fat, from Old High German; see mel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
schmaltz [ʃmɑlts]

and shmaltz
  1. n.
    extreme sentimentality; corny sweetness. (From a Yiddish word meaning fat or oil.) : I didn't like that movie. Too much schmaltz.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

schmaltz 
"banal or excessive sentimentalism," 1935, from Yiddish shmalts, lit. "melted fat," from M.H.G. smalz, from O.H.G., related to smelzan "to melt." Modern Ger. Schmaltz "fat, grease" has the same figurative meaning. First mentioned in Eng. as "a derogatory term used to describe straight jazz" ["Vanity Fair," Nov. 1935].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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