Skip to content

schmear

noun

  1. a portion of cream cheese or another spread, as on a bagel
  2. a group of related things
  3. a bribe; bribery, corruption. Also: flattery with a view to influencing someone
L1397921 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ʃmɪə(ɹ)/

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Yiddish שמיר (shmir, “smear, spread”); compare German schmieren. Doublet of smear, smearcase. By surface analysis, schm- + smear. The sense “bribe” is from Yiddish שמירן (shmirn, “to smear, to bribe”), senses found also in German schmieren. The implication is that a bribe helps “lubricate” an interaction.

  1. A spread that goes on a bagel.
  2. A batch of things that go together.

    So you can buy a la carte programming, or you can buy the whole schmear.

  3. An aggregate.

verb

Etymology: Borrowed from Yiddish שמיר (shmir, “smear, spread”); compare German schmieren. Doublet of smear, smearcase. By surface analysis, schm- + smear. The sense “bribe” is from Yiddish שמירן (shmirn, “to smear, to bribe”), senses found also in German schmieren. The implication is that a bribe helps “lubricate” an interaction.

  1. To spread something, often a bagel spread.
  2. To bribe.

    "What happened?" "Nothing." "How could nothing happen if you're not with her? Listen, did you grease that d.j.?" "No." "You didn't schmear him? You think the world owes you a living?"

    […] I slipped the guy a hundred dollars." "You had to schmear him to sell you a patch?"