variants
or schmeer
plural schmears or schmeers
1
informal
: a group of related things
One false move and the whole schmear [=the entire thing, everything] will come crashing to the floor.—Jeffrey L. Seglin
2
informal
: a layer of a spreadable food or condiment
He eats one virtually every day, 'round noon or 1 p.m., topped with the faintest schmear of peanut butter.—Mary Bilyeu
especially
: a layer of cream cheese
… the reverential tones that the Milanese reserve for a perfect risotto, or New Yorkers for a classic bagel with a schmear. —Jack Knox
While visiting New York a few years ago, Dan Winters popped into a bodega and ordered a plain with a schmear. The clerk just stared at him, and Winters, who spent four years in the city starting in the late 1980s, realized the guy had no idea what he was saying. Times had changed, even for breakfast. "No one said, 'Let me get a bagel with cream cheese,'" Winters says. "It was 'plain with a schmear.'" —Laura Mallonee
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share