shmok

penis

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An eagerly trusting player bets on a rigged shell game while the operator secretly holds the ball off the table, making the player's gullibility visible.

noun

schmuck

SHMUK/ʃmʌk/

A foolish or contemptible person.

Etymology

schmuckEast Yiddishpenis

East Yiddish shmok literally means “penis,” making the personal insult a transferred sexual term. The English sense carries contempt, not simply a judgment that someone is foolish or easily fooled.

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schmuck