s(c)hlemiel (?) common?

[mkenuk]

I'm sorry if I'm starting to sound repetitive. A couple of weeks ago, I queried 'schlep' a Yiddish word which, apparently, is common among the Jewish community in parts of N. America. Yesterday's Yiddish word was 'shlemiel' (a dolt, an oaf, a bungler) also (according to my COD) 'informal, N. American'. I have to ask again if these words are really common in all parts of the English-speaking world. Common among Jewish people in N. America, perhaps, but common among Irish Catholics? Lutherans in South Africa? Moslems in Nigeria? Hindus and Buddhists in India? Again, sounding repetitive, I have read many novels by good American Jewish Authors (Saul Bellow, John Updike, Norman Mailer, Philip Roth etc) and I may well have come across these words in reading such novels, but I'm afraid they haven't stuck with me to the point where I would regard them as part of my everyday active or passive vocabulary.
  MK

[birdy]

Some Yiddish words are used all over the U.S., but most of them, and I think schlemiel is one, are most common in the Northeast, especially around NYC.  I learned most of them when I moved to NYC many years ago.

[pat]

I'm with MK on this one - never heard of the word.

[TRex]

I did not know the word could be spelt without the 'c'! Having lived in an area of North America with a large Jewish presence, I had heard the word (along with schlep and other Yiddish-based words), but I agree it should not be common.

[biggerbirdbrain]

Coming from the east coast originally, hearing those words was common, but outside a certain perimeter, almost never. Although it was funny, because if I said "schlep" out here, most people got it because of the context, even though they did not use it themselves. Deffo a "rare" one.

[rogue_mother]

I can't put my finger on when I first learned the word s(c)hlep, but it has stuck with me because it is so descriptive. S(c)hlemiel, however, is off my radar. I was exposed to it when it was used during the intro for the Laverne and Shirley TV show, but I had no clue what it meant and never really saw or heard it again after that. I am fine with moving s(c)hlemiel to the less common category. If s(c)hlep is the same, then oh, well, so be it.

[cb]

'schlep' ... & ...'shlemiel'
I have to ask again if these words are really common in all parts of the English-speaking world.

I didn't know either of them.

[birdy]

Has "schmuck" passed into the common lexicon, R-M?  It's sure used here a lot.

[biggerbirdbrain]

I've even heard of "s(ch)lub" ...  though rarely used.

[rogue_mother]

I think s(c)hmuck is more common than s(c)hlep around here. It is used more often than s(c)hmo, even. I have heard and seen s(c)hlub, too, but it is less common. I'm vaguely recalling that schmo might be on the common list, so perhaps Alan needs to consider it, as well, before MK goes on another whinge binge.

[biggerbirdbrain]

I love all those words! They're so expressive, while sounding so nonsensical!.

[rogue_mother]

The one I love best is meshugana, which means crazy person or just plain crazy, but it may be too localized to be on even the less common Chi list. I think I picked it up from Mad Magazine when I was a wee lass.

[mkenuk]

First of all, I'm sorry if I've upset anybody with my whing(e)ing (you should hear me on a really bad day!) Secondly, even I have heard of 'schmuck' (and 'schmaltz' and 'schmooze') and I do agree that they are wonderful sounding words, especially when spoken by someone like Walter Matthau, whose family I am sure must have been native speakers of Yiddish. Whether they are genuine English words is another matter, which I will leave to Alan to decide. I promise to accept his verdict without even a hint of a whinge!
 
MK

[birdy]

Is meshuganah used in Fiddler on the Roof?  I think that's where many people were first exposed to Yiddish words.

[biggerbirdbrain]

I mostly heard meshugana (meshuga) on the streets of NYC so it was very familiar to me. Here in Texas you hear "loco," so it's all regional of course.

My favorite expression -- and more universally understood -- is the index finger circling next to one's temple! Coo-koo, coo-koo!!