Joe Shmoe
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Joe Shmoe (also spelled Joe Schmoe and Joe Schmo), meaning "Joe Anybody", or no one in particular, is a commonly used fictional name in American English. Adding a "Shm" to the beginning of a word is meant to diminish, negate, or dismiss an argument (for instance, "Rain, shmain, we've got a game to play"). It can also indicate that the speaker is being ironic or sarcastic. This process was adapted in English from the use of the "schm" prefix in Yiddish to dismiss something; as in, "sale, schmale" (thus denying that the sale is worthwhile). While "schmo" ("schmoo", "schmoe") is thought by some linguists to be a clipping of Yiddish שמוק "schmuck",[1] that derivation is disputed.[2] The earliest known use of the phrase is the 1940s.[3]
See also
- Average Joe
- Joe Bloggs
- John Doe
- John Q. Public
- Man on the street
- Man on the Clapham omnibus
- Placeholder name
- Tom, Dick and Harry
- Zé Povinho