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
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