schmatte
9.9
An old piece of cloth used to clean things
- noun
- /ʃmɑːtə/
- Informal
:
trapo
- My grandmother always had a schmatte handy for cleaning up spills in the kitchen.
Examples
-
After painting, he wiped his hands on an old schmatte he kept in the garage.
-
She used a schmatte to dust the shelves in the living room.
-
He wiped his hands on an old schmatte.
-
Don't throw that schmatte away!
-
My grandmother always had a schmatte handy for cleaning up spills in the kitchen.
-
After painting, he wiped his hands on an old schmatte he kept in the garage.
-
She used a schmatte to dust the shelves in the living room.
Synonyms
How Worn
Surface Forms
Etymology
Schmatte comes from the Yiddish word shmate, which means 'rag' or 'old cloth'. That's why schmatte can mean an old piece of cloth used for cleaning, just like a 'rag' for dusting or wiping.