schmaltz
Kosher cooking grease
Schmaltz is excessive sentimentality, especially in music, art, or entertainment—the kind of emotional appeal that feels manipulative or cheap: The movie was pure schmaltz, with swelling violins and tearful reunions.
The word comes from Yiddish for rendered chicken fat, suggesting something greasy and over-rich.
Also spelled shmaltz.
Excessively sentimental
- maudlinExcessively tearful sentiment
- saccharineExaggeratedly sentimental
- syrupyExcessively sweet or sentimental
- cloyingExcessively sweet or sentimental
tearjerker · heartstrings · corny · cheesy · overwrought · weepy · gooey · mushy
Rendered poultry lipid
- goose fatRendered poultry lipid
- duck fatLipid from waterfowl
- renderedDepicted or processed
- latkesFried shredded potato cakes
matzah ball · chopped liver · kugel · challah · kosher · delicatessen · savory · traditional
Performer's signature gimmick
- chutzpahShameless, admirable audacity
- kvetchHabitual grumbler
- mavenTrusted field authority
- klutzAwkward, graceless person
nosh · bubkes · mensch · schlep · schlock · schmuck · kibitz · tchotchke
Soft-voiced romantic vocalist
- balladNarrative poem or song
- serenadeOutdoor romantic performance
- swooningLosing consciousness briefly
- lushRichly abundant in growth
orchestral · vibrato · lounge · tearful · romantic · standards · melodramatic · overproduced
Sadly longing for something
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- yesteryearTime not long past
- bygoneOf earlier times
sepia-toned · old-fashioned · misty-eyed · homesickness · bittersweet · retro · vintage · throwback
sappy
Excessively sentimental
- maudlinExcessively tearful sentiment
- saccharineExaggeratedly sentimental
- syrupyExcessively sweet or sentimental
cloying · tearjerker · heartstrings · corny · cheesy · overwrought · weepy · gooey · mushy · kitschy
chicken fat
Rendered poultry lipid
latkes · matzah ball · chopped liver · kugel · challah · kosher · delicatessen · savory · traditional · flavorful
shtick
Performer's signature gimmick
klutz · nosh · bubkes · mensch · schlep · schlock · schmuck · kibitz · tchotchke · verklempt
crooner
Soft-voiced romantic vocalist
- balladNarrative poem or song
- serenadeOutdoor romantic performance
- swooningLosing consciousness briefly
lush · orchestral · vibrato · lounge · tearful · romantic · standards · melodramatic · overproduced · syrupy
wistful
Sadly longing for something
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
- reminiscenceRecalling past experiences
- yesteryearTime not long past
bygone · sepia-toned · old-fashioned · misty-eyed · homesickness · bittersweet · retro · vintage · throwback · rose-colored
- Yiddishchutzpah, kvetch, mensch, schlep, tchotchke
- Fats and Oilsvegetable oil, olive oil, coconut oil, canola oil, sunflower oil
- borrowed wordschic, naive, passe, avant-garde, faux
- cooking fatsvegetable fat, lard, shortening, butter fat, tallow
- Fatfat, body fat, belly fat, lard, blubber
- fats and greasesgrease, lard, tallow, suet, animal fat
schmaltzsubtlety
Fine distinction, easily missed
restraint · understatement · reserve · reticence · stoicism
schmaltzausterity
Enforced economic stringency
spareness · starkness · minimalism · astringency · edginess
schmaltzsincerity
Honest, unfeigned genuineness
authenticity · genuineness · unaffected · depth · gravitas