shmatte
noun/ˈʃmɑtə/
Etymology Borrowed from Yiddish שמאַטע (shmate); originally from Polish szmata.
1
A rag.
2
An old or dirty article of clothing.
3
Business, Clothing, Commerce, Fashion, Lifestyle, Manufacturing, Retail, Textiles Slang Any item of clothing.
Fashion industry
- She skipped onto a minimally decorated stage in a pale salmon pink schmate covered in bows, loose-fitting and obviously filled with surprises.1983 April 9, Walta Borawski, “Midler in Boston”, in Gay Community News, page 12:
- I said, Why am I in the shmatte business? Mr. Kimmel said of his beginners luck.2007 December 12, David M. Halbfinger, “A Film Producer Guided More by His Heart Than by His Calculator”, in New York Times:
1 more example
- In addition to having the barely perceptible but definitely present scummy vibe of an early 20th-century schmatte business, it was like the ultimate perversion of the male literary impulse.2020, Emily Segal, Mercury Retrograde, New York: Deluge Books, →ISBN: