'Schm' as a way to show disdain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shm-reduplication
As explained in the link above, it is a way to show disdain for an idea by saying it twice, except the 2nd time you mess it up by imposing a 'Schm.' (Often done to humorous effects, it enjoyed some rise of recognition along with the popularity of the Jerry Seinfeld show.)

He sells on eBay now? eBay schmebay !
You hanging out on Facebook now? Facebook schmacebook !

I know of only 1 other language that uses the same: but in that, Vietnamse, it is a suffix, -iếc:
Nuôi chó nuôi chiếc ! : showing disdain for keeping pet dogs.
Du khách du khiếc ! : showing disdain for tourists.

All that is just to ask the obvious question: does spoken French have a similar pattern of usage?

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EducatorPermalink Reply by George Hunt on January 16, 2014 at 1:19am

I can't think of any examples.The closest I can come to one is "patati patata" .I am not sure if that is a French expression or is it international but I think it means "blah blah" .

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Permalink Reply by Charles D on January 21, 2014 at 4:09am

The schm patterning is usually meant in disdainful dismissal of something. However, it comes from Yiddish (which has many words like schmo (a sort of milquetoast person and usually a man), schmata ( referring disapprovingly to a piece of clothing, i.e. "Did you see the schmata she wore to the party last night?"), schmuck (with reference to a male's private part, by extension referring to the man himself--English has many such variants in slang), schmooze (referring to just some friendly chatting between friends). These are just a few examples.

Due to its large Jewish immigrant population these words are associated a lot with New York City. Hence, Seinfeld--a New York Jewish comedian--and many others of his ilk like Jackie Mason, Mort Sahl, Sid Ceasar, etc.

I have never heard anything similar in any other language, except perhaps Yiddish itself.

It would be interesting to hear from any French people whose heritage may include Yiddish speaking French Jews. And, by the way, in New York you needn't be Jewish to use these words. We all use them.