Sister Schm**k

There is a nun named Sister Schmuck. Really. I read about her in The Atlantic Monthly (May 2011). Now, I've led a rather innocent life. So, I admit that I did not know the raunchy meaning of 'schmuck.' I knew it was a put-down to call someone a schmuck. But I didn't know why.


Sister Schmuck grew up in Kentucky, but was sent to the Sisters of Mercy convent in Brooklyn, N.Y. She says she gets funny looks and grins when she signs her name or checks in at an airport. So, she explains that her surname Schmuck is a German word meaning 'jewel.' Which is true. However, 'schmuck' is also a Yiddish word for the private part of the male body. 


Now, if you're thinking quickly, you might say, "Oh, I get it: the family jewels!" But that's not the case. Linguistics experts say that the German word and the Yiddish term have no common linguistic roots. 


The Yiddish term comes from baby talk. A little boy's penis is called a shtekl, a 'little stick.' Shtekl morphed into shmeckle, a kind of baby-rhyming thing; and shmeckle morphed into shmuck. In the Yiddish context Shmeckle is used for prepubescent boys, and is not a dirty word. But schmuck became the word used for older boys, and it has an obscene ring to it.


Here's a typical Jewish joke using this term: Murray and Harry are visiting Tel Aviv, and they decide to rent camels and ride them through town. They quickly fall into an argument. Murray is convinced his camel is male; Harry thinks otherwise. He asks, "What makes you so sure yours is male?" Murray says, "That's easy. Just a few minutes ago, we passed this guy on the sidewalk, and he said: Take a look at the schmuck on that camel!"


Sister Mary Schmuck likes Jewish comedy. But she thinks comedians are creative enough to find other terms to use than the one that matches her surname.


I'm glad I read the article by Jeffrey Goldberg about this jewel of a nun. My linguistic capacities have been expanded. 


But is it just a coincidence that as I write this blog post Representative Weiner has just admitted his shortcomings? One could be tempted to say: Congressman Weiner, you're a schmuck! But I'm not going to do that. I'll leave that to his wife.


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