I have no proof for this theory, but I think shmendrik was created for the combination of shlemeil and shlemazel. The shlemiel is the one who is clumsy or careless, and the shlemazel is the victim of the shlemiel, the hapless chosen-by-chance target who gets the soup spilled on him. There was no word for the individual capable of being both the perpetrator and the object, until shmendrik came along.
Comments by ibclc2
ibclc2 commented on the word shmendrik
I have no proof for this theory, but I think shmendrik was created for the combination of shlemeil and shlemazel. The shlemiel is the one who is clumsy or careless, and the shlemazel is the victim of the shlemiel, the hapless chosen-by-chance target who gets the soup spilled on him. There was no word for the individual capable of being both the perpetrator and the object, until shmendrik came along.
January 20, 2012