Schnorrer (Yiddish)
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Schnorrer (also spelled shnorrer) is a Yiddish term meaning "beggar" or "sponger." (The word Schnorrer also occurs in German with the same meaning, albeit it is oftenly more appropriately used to describe someone who is "borrowing" mostly little sums of money, yet never or rarely paying it back.) The English usage of the word denotes a sly chiseller who will get money out of you any way he can, often through an air of entitlement. A schnorrer is distinguished from an ordinary beggar by dint of his boundless chutzpah.
The term is often, but not always, used in a negative sense.
It can also be used as a backhanded compliment to someone's perseverance, cleverness, or thrift. For instance, Azriel Hildesheimer, known for his travels around Europe to spread his rabbinical wisdom to the poor, and for his refusal to accept payment for his services, was sometimes referred to as the "international schnorrer" for his reliance on the local community to house and feed him wherever he went. Israel Zangwill best described a schnorrer as a beggar who would chide you for not giving enough.
[edit] Schnorrers in film and literature
- Israel Zangwill: The King of Schnorrers (novel, 1894)
- Groucho Marx, in his movies, often assumed the role of a schnorrer. The word is used in the song "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" in the Marx Brothers musical Animal Crackers: "Hooray for Captain Spaulding/The African explorer/Did someone call me schnorrer?/Hooray, hooray, hooray!"
- The comedian Jackie Mason often pokes fun at the stereotype of Jews as schnorrers.
- The character of Father Phil Intintola on The Sopranos, as played by Paul Schulze is depicted as a schnorrer, expecially with regards to his always showing up when Carmela is cooking.
