schmutz
noun
ˈshmu̇ts 
US slang
: a filthy or soiling substance (such as mud, dust, or grime) : dirt
… what's a little schmutz to a New Yorker? That's why we have immune systems. 
Discover
DiscoverWhat to watch while wiping some schmutz off your million dollar face with a hundred dollar bill in the presence of an attractive young lady … Deadspin
Deadspin… point out the schmutz on a classmate's shirt. Jonathan Marks
Jonathan Marks
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web But almost every home needs one to pick up stray pieces of schmutz. Wired, 27 Nov. 2021 Seriously Sometimes even presidents get some schmutz on their chin. New York Times, 31 July 2021 Give all the citrus a good scrub under cold water to get any schmutz off, and then use a vegetable peeler to remove wide strips of the zest from that grapefruit, all those limes, and three of the lemons. Amiel Stanek, Bon Appétit, 30 June 2021 For truly tough stuff—oven racks, grill grates, stovetops, the inside of your oven—get yourself some #2 steel wool, which will coarsely cut through thick layers of scuzzy schmutz like an industrial street sweeper. Carla Lalli Music, Bon Appétit, 24 Mar. 2020 After the schmutz is gone, a thorough spritzing with disinfectant can destroy any infectious stragglers. Katherine J. Wu, Popular Science, 16 Mar. 2020 After observing the star on February 14, the researchers found the star ran just as hot as usual, leaving—by process of elimination—the possibility of stellar schmutz, produced by Betelgeuse itself. Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2020 No longer useful for missions and too cumbersome to move or destroy, space debris has spent the last six decades accumulating around our planet like a shroud of schmutz. Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian, 12 Dec. 2019 Early results collected by astronomers in Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands show that visually, the object looks a lot like our solar system’s own comets, with a reddish surface made of a carbon-rich schmutz. Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 4 Oct. 2019 See More
Wired, 27 Nov. 2021 Seriously Sometimes even presidents get some schmutz on their chin. New York Times, 31 July 2021 Give all the citrus a good scrub under cold water to get any schmutz off, and then use a vegetable peeler to remove wide strips of the zest from that grapefruit, all those limes, and three of the lemons. Amiel Stanek, Bon Appétit, 30 June 2021 For truly tough stuff—oven racks, grill grates, stovetops, the inside of your oven—get yourself some #2 steel wool, which will coarsely cut through thick layers of scuzzy schmutz like an industrial street sweeper. Carla Lalli Music, Bon Appétit, 24 Mar. 2020 After the schmutz is gone, a thorough spritzing with disinfectant can destroy any infectious stragglers. Katherine J. Wu, Popular Science, 16 Mar. 2020 After observing the star on February 14, the researchers found the star ran just as hot as usual, leaving—by process of elimination—the possibility of stellar schmutz, produced by Betelgeuse itself. Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2020 No longer useful for missions and too cumbersome to move or destroy, space debris has spent the last six decades accumulating around our planet like a shroud of schmutz. Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian, 12 Dec. 2019 Early results collected by astronomers in Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands show that visually, the object looks a lot like our solar system’s own comets, with a reddish surface made of a carbon-rich schmutz. Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 4 Oct. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Yiddish shmuts & German Schmutz, from Middle High German smutzen to soil, damage
First Known Use
1838, in the meaning defined above
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- twiddle one's thumbs
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