Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to feel like a schmuck

to feel like a schmuck

1 9.9
To feel foolish and embarrassed about something you did
  • idiom
  • /fiːl laɪk ə ʃmʌk/
  • Offensive
: sentirse un idiota
  • When I accidentally replied all to the email, I couldn't help but feel like a schmuck.

Examples

  • I feel like a schmuck because I've been working my ass off and saving money, and now you know why.

    Murder Mystery (2019)

  • Of course that night she'd felt like a total schmuck for walking away from her, so in her usual fashion of overdoing it, she had gone to the hotel kitchen and picked up a bunch of dinners, then schlepped them over to the intensive care unit to feed all the relatives of the sick and the dying.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • After making a fool of myself at the party, I really felt like a schmuck.

  • He felt like a schmuck for forgetting his best friend's birthday.

Synonyms

to make a fool of oneself
vsto feel like a schmuck
42 4.1

Act in a way that makes you look silly or embarrassed

refers to the internal feeling of foolishness rather than outward behavior
to feel awkward
vsto feel like a schmuck
21 2.8

Be uncomfortable or embarrassed when you are with other people

focuses more on social discomfort rather than feeling stupid or foolish
to feel like a fool
vsto feel like a schmuck
9 6.0

To be embarrassed and silly because of something you did

is the same idea but named using a different word
to feel dumb
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Informal
3 6.0

Be embarrassed and think you are foolish after making a mistake

is similar but usually named with a different informal phrase
to feel like a pillock
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish because of something you did

is the same feeling but expressed by a different word
to feel like a dodo
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Informal
9.6

To think you are silly after making a mistake

is the same feeling but expressed with another playful word
to feel like a plonker
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Offensive
9.9

Being foolish and embarrassed after making an obvious mistake

is the same feeling but presented by another colloquial term
to feel like a total boob
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish or embarrassed because of a mistake

is less extreme in tone and focuses on ordinary embarrassment
to feel like a wally
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish and embarrassed because of something you did

is the same feeling but expressed by a different word
to feel like a pinhead
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Offensive
9.1

To be foolish or embarrassed after making a mistake

is the same inner embarrassment but named with a different insult word
to feel like a boofhead
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish after making a mistake

is the same feeling but used more generally rather than regionally
to feel like a gomer
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Archaic
9.9

Act or seem foolish and unable to do something in a situation

is similar but often stresses being socially clumsy rather than foolishness alone
to feel like a jackoff
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish and embarrassed after a careless mistake

is similar but carries more focus on embarrassment without irresponsibility
to feel like a total bumhole
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel very ashamed and worthless after doing something embarrassing

is less extreme, focusing on shame or embarrassment without deep worthlessness
to feel like a worm
vsto feel like a schmuck
  • Offensive
9.1

To be very ashamed and think you are worthless

is about ordinary foolishness and embarrassment rather than deep humiliation

Antonyms

smart
∞ 1.9

Shows quick thinking and good understanding

How Foolish

to feel like a schmuck
  • Offensive
1 9.9
to feel like a dodo
  • Informal
9.6

Surface Forms

feel like a schmuck infinitive
feeling like a schmuck present participle
feels like a schmuck third person singular
felt like a schmuck past
felt like a schmuck past participle

Morphology

feel + like + a + schmuck

The meaning is directly compositional: 'feel' (experience) + 'like' (similar to) + 'a schmuck' (a foolish person) yields 'feel foolish/embarrassed'. Although 'schmuck' is slang of Yiddish origin, if a B1 learner knows that constituent meaning the standard 'feel like + NP' pattern makes the overall sense immediately derivable.

Etymology

Feel like a schmuck uses schmuck, a Yiddish word that originally meant 'jewel' or 'ornament' but later became a rude name for someone acting foolish. So when you feel like a schmuck, you feel 'foolish' or 'embarrassed' because you see yourself as the fool.