schmo

noun — 2 senses

schmo

noun

/ʃməʊ/

Etymology From Yiddish, alteration of schmuck. Compare also Russian чмо (čmo, “jerk, schmuck”).

1

Jewish, US, Slang A stupid, obnoxious, pathetic, or otherwise contemptible person; a schmuck.

The poor schmo would immediately break down and confess that he did a lot of other bad things as well.2008, Ben Yagoda, chapter IV, in When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It, Crown, →ISBN:

Related terms: schmuck, Joe Schmo, schlemiel, schlimazel, schlub

schmo

noun

Etymology See Joe Schmoe § Etymology; schmo in this sense may well be homonymic to schmo in the sense above.

1

US, Derogatory, Humorous, Informal Any average Joe; any Joe Schmoe.

I'm just an average schmo
Of his early childhood, he told the Deseret News of Salt Lake City: “I'm a schmo. My family never made more than $25,000 a year. We're all bakers for generations.”2010, Dana Milbank, Tears of a Clown, New York: Doubleday, →ISBN, page 31:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.