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Schmutz.
It's Yiddish (?) and is a general term for unspecified dirt or filth. The fun part: once you have identified the filth, it is no longer schmutz.
My spouse and I picked it up from the Says You radio show years ago, and have used it ever since.
It's literally the translation of dirt or filth in German.
Its US usage comes mostly from Yiddish, but fun story: I studied for two years in Germany after taking one semester of German (would not recommend, but it worked out), and on my first day, I told my housemate that she had some schmutz on her nose, and she was so excited about the German progress I had already made… I did not know at that time that Schmutz was dirt, but I’ve always remembered it
Another great one syllable Yiddish word is Schmuck
Yiddish has like 200+ words for penis, and zero for vagina. they were also used to describe personality types. a schmuck is a general dick. a schmuckgagle is a giant dick. a schmuckus is a baby dick. etc.
I don't know Yiddish, but it's got some good words. I feel like Hutzpah is one that I hear from time to time
Chutzpah is great! There are tons of great Yiddish words. Some of my favorites are schvitz (to sweat; alternatively a sauna), schlep ([traveling] an annoying distance), mischigas (nonsense or nutty behavior, or kinda similar to a clusterfuck), noodge (kinda like a pest, but said with some affection), zaftig (pleasingly plump, like Christina Hendricks), and kvell (to be really happy/proud, opposite of kvetch).
So it's a name for a thing that doesn't actually exist?
No, more like "hey you've got some schmutz on your shirt." I don't know what it is (might be crumbs or maybe lint) but it's definitely there.