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New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
'Blue-eyed liar': is there an English equivalent? | Meaning of "threaded down"
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New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister Mon Dec 11, 2006 4:38 am  New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister		  
Tonight I heard a former TV producer say this in a documentary of his career:

Quote:
I got tired of being the schlockmeister.

It's okay to use the word "schlockmeister" in a game of Scrabble, because it's in ordinary American dictionaries.
Jamie (K)
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New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:43 am  New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister		  
Hi Jamie

Is this word of German origin or not?
Pamela
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New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:34 am  New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister		  
Hi Pamela

The 'meister' part is definitely German. I suspect the 'schlock' part has Yiddish origins. I don't think 'schlockmeister' (as one word) is German -- at least I've never heard it. However, the pronunciation of 'schlock' would be relatively similar to the German word 'Schlag'. Very Happy

Amy
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New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister Mon Dec 11, 2006 14:33 pm  New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister		  
Amy''s right. Meister is from German, and schlock is from Yiddish. Here is the etymology of schlock from the Oxford American Dictionary:

Quote:
ORIGIN early 20th cent.: apparently from Yiddish shlak ‘an apoplectic stroke,’ shlog ‘wretch, untidy person, apoplectic stroke.’

Note that there is also an adjective: schlocky
Jamie (K)
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New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister Tue Dec 12, 2006 13:51 pm  New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister		  
Quote:
It's okay to use the word "schlockmeister" in a game of Scrabble

May I know how? In what sense, I mean? "The one who makes inferior words"?

Tom
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New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister Tue Dec 12, 2006 14:14 pm  New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister		  
Jamie (K) wrote:
Quote:
ORIGIN early 20th cent.: apparently from Yiddish shlak ‘an apoplectic stroke,’ shlog ‘wretch, untidy person, apoplectic stroke.’

Note that there is also an adjective: schlocky

Maybe, there's also a connection between 'shlog' and 'slob'?
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New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister Tue Dec 12, 2006 15:22 pm  New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister		  
Torsten wrote:
Maybe, there's also a connection between 'shlog' and 'slob'?

Apparently not.

The Oxford American Dictionary again:
Quote:
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from Irish slab ‘mud,’ from Anglo-Irish slab [ooze, sludge,] probably of Scandinavian origin.
Jamie (K)
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister Tue Dec 12, 2006 16:06 pm  New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister		  
Hi Jamie (K),

You wrote:

Quote:
It's okay to use the word "schlockmeister" in a game of Scrabble, because it's in ordinary American dictionaries.

Do you (or anyone else) know how common the word is in non-American varietes of English?

Englishuser
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New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:33 am  New vocabulary word: Schlockmeister		  
Hello to everyone,
Yes, exactly the stem meister made me think that this word could be of German origin. But then my thorough search of schlock in German dictionary went down the drain. Your feedback has confirmed that. However, sch(l)- is often met in German words. So,schlockmeister can easily bedevil a man who is not in close contact with German language Smile(who is not aware of its absence in it)
Pamela
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Joined: 14 Mar 2006
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'Blue-eyed liar': is there an English equivalent? | Meaning of "threaded down"
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