My czech friend has referred to a small ornament as "smejd". There is a hook over the "s" (sorry i don't have a czech keyboard) so i am guessing that is is pronounced in English as "shmaid" or similar. I can't find this word in the dictionary so is it czech slang and what does it mean? (i'm really sorry if it's a rude word!). :?
"šmejd" could be: - bad person, someone malevolent - low quality item, schlock in some cases "šmejd" could be also any thing you are talking about - "thingy".
Thank you Eso for taking the trouble to reply. Yes, i think you are right. I think in this instance my friend was meaning a low quality item. Maybe 'smejd' is equivalent to the English word 'tat' meaning cheaply made souvenirs like you would find in a tourist shop for example.
There is plenty of "šmejd" translations in the dictionaries: - trash - shoddy - rubb - tripe - trumpery - dross - duffer - catchpenny - chaff - dust - schlock - shlock - truck 8)
Hello Karel. Thanks for your reply. The dictionary i have is small and does not have smejd. I must get around to buying a larger and more uptodate one.
Yes, one syllable. “Šmejd” comes from “Schmied” which is German for “smith”. The first meaning was “small metalwork” (so-called Nuremberg wares), later “metal trash”, later “trash”, later “low quality item” and the most recently acquired meaning is “nasty person”. Only the last two meanings are common nowadays.
