variants
or schmoe
as in idiot
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Recent Examples of schmo
Wearing his uniform from Coffee High School, Hill ran 6.70 seconds to win a U.S. men’s masters indoor race against regular schmoes.
—
Cory Mull, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
Doc Odd goes against protocol, though, and saves this schmo’s life a second time in one night.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2025
Listen to this article The Bo Show won’t go if Courtland’s a schmo.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 31 Mar. 2025
But even though Mickey 17 is set in outer space about 30 years from now, its hero isn’t that different from those found throughout Bong’s filmography: a working-class schmo.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2025
Some poor schmo rotated 720 degrees sideways while losing both his skis and face planting onto the ice.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 26 Sep. 2024
By Stephanie Zacharek September 2, 2024 7:49 AM EDT
What separates a genius from the rest of us schmoes?
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 2 Sep. 2024
This is a big hokey underdog story, but it’s told with a grit and realism that matches the era; Rocky’s just a good-hearted schmo from the neighborhood who doesn’t have the stomach to break thumbs for the mob but isn’t sure what else the world has for him either.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 27 Apr. 2024
The broad contours of his arc, from an ordinary schmo to a beloved TV star hobnobbing with celebrities and signing his own development deal, are as classic as Hollywood fairy tales get.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Dec. 2023
Cory Mull, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
Doc Odd goes against protocol, though, and saves this schmo’s life a second time in one night.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2025
Listen to this article The Bo Show won’t go if Courtland’s a schmo.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 31 Mar. 2025
But even though Mickey 17 is set in outer space about 30 years from now, its hero isn’t that different from those found throughout Bong’s filmography: a working-class schmo.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2025
Some poor schmo rotated 720 degrees sideways while losing both his skis and face planting onto the ice.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 26 Sep. 2024
By Stephanie Zacharek September 2, 2024 7:49 AM EDT
What separates a genius from the rest of us schmoes?
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 2 Sep. 2024
This is a big hokey underdog story, but it’s told with a grit and realism that matches the era; Rocky’s just a good-hearted schmo from the neighborhood who doesn’t have the stomach to break thumbs for the mob but isn’t sure what else the world has for him either.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 27 Apr. 2024
The broad contours of his arc, from an ordinary schmo to a beloved TV star hobnobbing with celebrities and signing his own development deal, are as classic as Hollywood fairy tales get.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Dec. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for schmo
Noun
-
Being a careless jackass but also irresistibly charming is a tough needle to thread.—
Staff Author Published,
EW.com,
22 May 2025
-
To the show’s credit, Rick isn’t a simple bummer or jackass.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Trump represents a father figure who is returning to the house, and there are various people living in it who are freeloaders and grifters and lowlifes abusing the kingdom.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
-
The groper was a lowlife—a deranged doctor, bent on harvesting astronaut semen for pernicious procreative ends.—
Justin Chang,
The New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Those dolts and laggards that were holding them back are no longer a boat anchor.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2025
-
Some will ask what’s the point of reading a review of a book about the man and corporation behind a remarkable technological leap since the writer is a technical dolt.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
Noun
-
Since then, he’s been a haunted wretch of a character: stoned, sullen, stuck with recurring visions of shooting his wife and himself.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
8 Apr. 2025
-
The unfortunate wretch makes an exciting escape, killing her captor in the process.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
President Trump has repeatedly called Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell stupid, terrible, a fool, and referred to him as a person of average mentality.—
Mike Patton,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
That fool’s from my family’s hometown over there in Mexico.—
Carlos De Loera,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2025
Noun
-
Yet each performance feels angled at a slightly different degree, one distinct acting turn making all the difference between a charming scoundrel, a depressed artist, a loyal sidekick, an aloof intellectual, or a precocious kid.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
12 June 2025
-
Is Jim Ellis a live-fast, die-young scoundrel or just a mostly pretty nice guy with a heart of gold who just happens to be working for the mob?—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Noun
-
Jane Austen wrote takedowns of this kind of ninny two centuries ago — how fun to see Pike update her twit to the post-Y2K era.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2024
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Kopas, who wisely eschews hamming, makes Frank a spry, eloquent presence, although more dourness in the play’s initial scenes might help his character stand out from the salon’s cheerful ninnies.—
Celia Wren,
Washington Post,
4 May 2023
Noun
-
The dramatic wheels are set in motion early, with Shu-Fen, always pressed for money, further strapped by her decision to pay for her estranged ex-husband’s funeral, while attracting the amorous attentions of the good-natured doofus who runs the neighboring knick-knack stand.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
15 May 2025
-
That also leaves Seann William Scott, a reliable doofus in the American Pie and Goon movies, in the tough spot of having to play Corey Milsap, who’s stuck in a conflict between his mom and Cobb.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Schmo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schmo. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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