schlock

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʃlɒk/ (UK); /ʃlɑk/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Yiddish שלאַק (shlak),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} of disputed origin.^[4] Barnhart and Etymonline take it from German Schlacke “dregs, dross”, related to slag,^[3][4] while the American Heritage Dictionary, Merriam-Webster and Random House relate it to Yiddish shlak “stroke, blow; evil, nuisance”, from Middle High German slac “blow”,^[2][5][6] which the OED also favours.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cheap, shoddy or defective goods (1915).^[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

The word was used mostly in commerce at first,^[4] and by the mid-20th century of trashy fiction, films and television.^[4][7] It has been used as an adjective since 1916,^[3][4][5] and schlocky is from 1968.^[4][7] Schlockmeister is recorded by 1953.^[4]

Timeline

• 1915 – shoddy goods.^[3][4][7]
• 1916 – adjective.^[3][4][5]
• 1953 – schlockmeister.^[4]
• 1968 – schlocky.^[4][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Something, such as goods, writing or entertainment, that is cheap, inferior or shoddy; junk.

Adjective

1. Of low quality; cheap or trashy.

Word family

• schlockmeister
• schlocky

Related words

• slag
• kitsch

Usage notes

Merriam-Webster and Random House also give the spelling shlock.^[5][6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press