• shmear, schmeer, shmeer

Borrowed from Yiddish שמיר (shmir, “smear, spread”); compare German schmieren. Doublet of smear, smearcase. By surface analysis, schm- +‎ smear.

The sense “bribe” is from Yiddish שמירן (shmirn, “to smear, to bribe”), senses found also in German schmieren. The implication is that a bribe helps “lubricate” an interaction.

• IPA^(key): /ʃmɪə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

schmear (plural schmears)

1. A spread that goes on a bagel.
2. A batch of things that go together.
   • 1994, United States. Congress. Joint Economic Committee, Field Hearing: Defense Conversion: Hearing..., page 21:

     So you can buy a la carte programming, or you can buy the whole schmear.

3. An aggregate.

schmear (third-person singular simple present schmears, present participle schmearing, simple past and past participle schmeared)

1. To spread something, often a bagel spread.
2. (slang, transitive) To bribe.
   • 1969, Morris Renek, Siam Miami, page 131:

     "What happened?"
     "Nothing."
     "How could nothing happen if you're not with her? Listen, did you grease that d.j.?"
     "No."
     "You didn't schmear him? You think the world owes you a living?"

   • 2003, Lawrence Block, Small Town, page 638:

     […] I slipped the guy a hundred dollars."
     "You had to schmear him to sell you a patch?"

• Marches, charmes, machers, marches, mesarch