Help
Sign In
alpha dictionary
February 2010 
Smarmy - a word used in the USA?
mimi
• smarmy •
Printable Version Pronunciation: smah(r)-mi • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: 1. Slicked down, greasy, said especially of hair with too much tonic or oil on it. 2. Unctuous, oily, obsequious, ingratiatingly polite, perhaps with an overlay of feigned intelligence or sophistication.
Notes: Today's Good Word is one that has yet to make it to America. It is widely used in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and other English-speaking countries but Americans never hear or use it. It may be compared: smarmier, smarmiest, and its root may be used as a qualitative noun, smarm, the quality that makes something smarmy. If you prefer something a bit longer, try smarminess for the noun. I'm sure you won't regret it.
In Play: Have you ever wanted a term that would help you avoid brown-nosing, a far too common expression in the US? Here is how you do it: "Mel Pew always puts on that smarmy charm of his when a customer comes by." Of course, smarminess could conjure up admiration, too: "I don't see how she does it but Celia Feight can pull out one of her smarmy sales pitches and sell ice cubes to an Eskimo."
Word History: Today's word is the adjective from the verb smarm "to slick down, to make smooth with an oily substance". No one has any idea where the verb came from though its meaning and spelling strongly suggest a kinship with smear. It probably originated in a dialectal pronunciation of this word or perhaps as a blend of smear and some other word, maybe balm. This is, however, only speculation. (Today we thank Jeremy Busch for suggesting words of mysterious origins that, equally mysteriously, have not penetrated the [more or less] United States.)
P.S. - Register for the Daily Good Word E-Mail! - You can get our daily Good Word sent directly to you via e-mail in either HTML or Text format. Go to our Registration Page to sign up today!
My friends and I (Canadian) have used this word for years, probably from the 1960's. How about you? Have you used this word?
Access: Public
Wow – I thought I grew up with the word smarmy (in the U.S., no less!),but perhaps it was a late-comer to my vocabulary?
I’ll look forward to hearing whether folks in the U.S. know this word…
Hey Dr. Karen,
I am so glad to hear that smarmy had penetrated into the US. it is such a descriptive word. My friend Bob, in Hawaii, sent me an e-mail and wrote:
guy.”
So that is two of you who have used the word in America. I think there may be others out there.
sorry, about the big font. Don’t think there is a way to change that here.
Mimi, for underused but useful words check out ”Reading the OED” by Ammon Shea, whose fascinating book tells how he spent a whole year reading through the 21730 pages of “the world’s greatest dictionary” (so that you & I won’t have to). and check out this link to Aphorisms and sayings. And one last recommendation “The most Brilliant thoughts of all time (in two lines or less) Edited by John M. Shanahan.
have a blissful day, and be panurgic (ready for anything)
MeMe