"Teamwork, schmeamwork!"
— Ming-Ming, Wonder Pets!
A Stock Phrase, or rather, a Stock Phrase template. A character scornfully dismisses a warning or advice for restraint by repeating the word that represents the advice, then the same word with its beginning replaced with "schm-". "Safety, schmafety!" "Rules, schmules!" "Convection, schmonvection!" "Strategy, schmategy!"
The Other Wiki tells us the actual name for this is Shm-reduplication
and it's, unsurprisingly, of Yiddish origin.
Examples, Schmexamples:
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Advertising, Schmadvertising!
- All the kids want to play these these days is Tetris, Schmetris! Whatever happened to the unicycle? And the BALL?
- When telephone answering machines were still new, impressive technology mainly used by big shots, an advertisement for an early model demonstrated its use. As the tape reeled from one spool to the other, the "sorry we missed your call, wait for the tone and leave your message" announcement played, followed by the unimpressed ranting of a typical Jewish Mother, scoffing, "Fancy schmancy, automatic. This is your mother, that's who..."
- Toast Schmost
- As part of Cable/Satellite Mudslinging, a satellite television commercial had cable executives remarking that this trope made anything seem less threatening, from cold sores to scotch.
Exec: Ooh! I'll have some smotch!
- A TD Easy Trade commercial features an "Internet comment section" in person in a room. One man in that group says, "Diversification, schmimersification."
Anime & Manga, Schmanine & Manga!
- In Pokémon, while Team Rocket are running for their lives from an Onix.
Jessie: Don't you know that ladies go first!?
James: Etiquette, Schmiquette! - From the DiC dub of Sailor Moon:
Sailor Moon: Lita's Sailor Jupiter!
Gesen/Game Machine Man: Ah Jupiter, Schmupiter! - Tekkaman Blade: Radam Schmadam, in the second episode.
- Local pro league Duelist Aster Phoenix from the English dub of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX asserts that he is the greatest around, and answers a question about the seemingly-invinicble protagonist Jaden Yuki in a televised interview.
Aster: I'm the best! I can't be beat, and to prove it, I'm challenging this schoolboy. I won't tell you his name, but it rhymes with "Schmaden Schmuki". (Looks towards camera.) You hear that, Schmaden?
Asian Animation, Schmasian Animation!
- BoBoiBoy:
- In the English dub of episode 6, Adu Du says "Grandson schmandson!" to Tok Aba saying that BoBoiBoy's rogue duplicate is his grandson, and he keeps convincing the duplicate under his control to keep on fighting his friends.
- In the English dub of episode 9, Adu Du hears about the Sleep Monster using multiple king pieces at the beginning of the round, of which he's one of them, being unfair and responds with "Fair schmair!"
Comic Books, Schmomic Books!
- In the Adventure Time Graphic Novels, The title of Vol. 5 is called "Graybles Schmaybles".
- The Smurfs:
- In the original English translation of the story "King Smurf", Papa Smurf returns and sees his little Smurfs in the final battle with King Smurf ready to let him have it and stops the fight, asking what's going on. They turn and innocently ask if he's got the euphorbium that he left the village for, and he replies "euphorbium smurfphorbium".
- In the Papercutz translation of "A Smurfing Party", a Smurf accompanying Brainy into the forest replies with "Smurf schmurf" and "Gargamel schmargamel".
- My Little Pony Classics Reimagined: Little Fillies: The first page has Meg/Twilight Sparkle read an article she made for the Ponyville Club. Beth/Fluttershy praises the article for its moral while Jo/Rainbow Dash dismisses it by saying "Morals, Smorals".
Comic Strips, Schmomic Strips!
- There's a The Far Side cartoon with several characters saying some variant of the phrase: Neanderthals Schmeanderthals (mammoths), Indians Schmindians (Custer), Mexicans Schmexicans (Davey Crockett), Genghis Schmengis (Chinese soldiers). The caption is History Schmistory.
- The September 4, 1978 strip of Garfield has "Labor Day, Schmabor Day."
- In Rose is Rose, Pasquale once told his mom that "Clem says anything can be cancelled out by replacing its first letter with shm". Her response was "Oh, Clem Shmlem!" In the last panel, Pasquale is asking Clem "Now what?".
- In Zits, Connie reads an article about how the decision making part of the brain isn't fully mature until the early 20s. She then says, "Science, schmience," as she decides to punish Jeremy.
Fan Works, Schman Works!
- Consequences, Schmonsequences, which involves a time-traveling Hermione.
- Chapter 2 of Ed, Edd, 'n Pony has Eddy giving out "Logic, smogic". The typo's possibly unintentional.
- Chapter 8 of Eddward Wright: Ace Attorney has Eddy giving out “Coincidence, shmoincidence”.
- Jokey's conversation with his Papa Smurf Pranky in the Empath: The Luckiest Smurf story "Days Of Auld Lang Smurf", regarding the Whoopee Cushion prank:
Pranky: Jokey, you're laughing at a gag that just malfunctioned! I don't smurf anything funny about it.
Jokey: That was Polaris, Papa, Empath's friend from Psychelia. He's someone who could really smurf a good laugh in his life.
Pranky: Polaris, schmolaris. I smurf nothing but a gag that just smurfed off by itself. Empathy must have triggered the thing to smurf off by itself to smurf his friend from smurfing on it, wherever he is. - In The Final Horcrux one of the books in Hermione's beaded bag is called Borage, Smorage: How to Forage.
- The Guile of the Traveller:
Harry: Yep. Somehow my magic fought it off and well ... I am now stuck with another fancy shmancy scar.
- Chapter 46 of Harry Potter - Three to Backstep is titled "Muggleborn Schmuggleborn!".
- Harry the Hufflepuff 4:
Ernie: I don't suppose Hermione...?
Harry: Not talking to me. Apparently her helping me look up spells and things is perfectly okay, but getting a whole house to research the second clue is cheating or something. I'll never understand that girl.
Ernie: She might have a point. It hardly seems fair.
Harry: Fair, schmair. I wasted a lot of time and energy convincing those 'claws to do this- - In If I Knew the Consequences I Wouldn't Have Done it Hermione's parents offer to take over Harry's guardianship.
Hermione: You mean you'll come with me. Leave Hogwarts and become my brother?
Harry: I don't think I'll be your brother, foster brother, maybe?
Hermione: Oh, what rubbish! Foster smoster we'll be siblings in all the ways that count. I always wanted a brother. Well, mostly an older brother but I guess you'll do. I love you, little brother. - In This World For You:
Draco-Polyjuiced-as-Neville: I love fast food! I want to marry fast food!
Hermione: I suppose one of us should have warned you about calories.
Harry: Yes, before you proposed to Whopper number five.
Draco-Polyjuiced-as-Neville: Calories, schmalories! Who cares, teacher's pet? It's not my waist I'm ruining after all. - Just Begging for a Little Change:
Augusta: If my Frank could see this...
Algernon: Eh, Frank, shmank. The facts are that your son and daughter-in-law are at St. Mungo's and not going to get better. - In Losing Control Harry kills a boggart with an Incendio from the Elder Wand.
Cedric: Um...Harry, you can't destroy a boggart like that. Fire spells won't hurt it. It's one of the rules we were taught in defense.
Harry: Rules, schmules. I'm the son of the only true Marauder and I make up my own rules. Cool, wasn't it? - Patchwork Wishes:
Ron: Not a toy broom, Mum! I need a real one. One of my very, very own. Pleeeasssse?
Mrs. Weasley: And why do you need a real one of your very own? We have plenty at home and with your brothers all at school, you don't even have to share with anyone but your sister.
Ron: But, Mum! Those brooms can hardly get off the ground anymore. Mr. Dog wants me to take him flying! Mr. Dog wants a Nimbus!
Mrs. Weasley: Nimbus - shmimbus! You and that stuffed bear of yours are just going to have to suffer down here on the ground with the rest of us Weasleys. The answer is still no. - In Planning for Failure Harry uses an Inuit warming charm on Hermione.
Harry: The book said it doesn't actually warm up, but just 'regulates outgoing heat exchanges with inorganic matter', or something. I've always wanted to have a picnic in the snow, but the cold and wet aspects would make the fulfillment of this particular fantasy quite disappointing, now, wouldn't they...
Hermione: Well, thank goodness the second law of thermodynamics is so lax, then. Should've called it the second guideline of thermodynamics, really. Entropy, schmentropy, etc. - In The Ridiculous Notion Draco reads a book called Uterus Schmuterus: Pregnancy Is for Everyone.
- In The Savior's Portrait Harry speaks to a rather rude portrait of himself at the Ministry of Magic.
Harry: What are you here for? Surely not advice? You're rubbish just at being polite; I can't imagine your attempt at being helpful.
Portrait-Harry: Advice, schmadvice. If the bloody Minister of Magic came to you for everything, would you answer honestly all the time? - In Searching For The Power Fred and George announce that they've found premises in Diagon Alley for their joke shop.
Mrs. Weasley: Just where did you find these premises, are you certain you can afford the rent?
Fred: Rent, schment. We used our inheritance to purchase premises across from Gringotts.
Films — Animation, Schmilms - Animation!
- In Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip, when all four Dexters and Mandarks gather together, this occurs:
Overlord Mandark: Just like old times, eh?
Hero Dexter: Yes, quite a reunion, but...
Dexter: (butting in) Reunion, schmunion! I want my Neurotomic Protocore, you gluttonous old hack!
Overlord Mandark: NEVER! - In Robots, during the climax when Bigweld fires Ratchet, the latter retorts he's made the company more profitable than ever.
Bigweld: Profit, Schmofit! Now Get Out!
Films — Live-Action, Schmilms - Live-Action!
- Billy Madison: After it's revealed that Billy got cheated out of his chance to inherit his father's hotel business by passing all 12 grades of school within two weeks, the alternate inheritor, Eric, protests against letting Billy try high school again.
Eric: Hey, rules are rules. Billy was supposed to finish each grade within the 2 weeks, or I get the company. He didn't finish 9th grade.
Carl: Eric, certainly there are extenuating circumstances...
Eric: Extenuating, exshmenuating! We had a deal. A signed, written deal. Each grade, 2 weeks, or I get the company. - The Rocky Horror Picture Show: "Planet, schmanet, Janet!"
- Scary Movie 3: After George is literally thrown out of a Rap Battle event for his KKK-looking hoodie and making a Nazi salute (to a predominantly black audience no less), he decides to give up rapping by saying this in a very childish manner.
George: That's it! I'm done!
Mahalik: Aw man, you can't give up rap just like that!
George: Rap, Schmap!
Mahalik: Look! you still got it! See? - Weird Science: When the futuristic biker goons conjured by Lisa show up at Gary and Wyatt's party and start trashing the house, Max and Ian look for a place to hide. Max yells, "What about the girls?" note Ian returns, "Girls schmirls!", and the two cower.
Jokes, Schmokes!
- Mrs. Siegel confided to her neighbor that her son had gone through so miserable a phase that he was now seeing a psychoanalyst. "And the doctor says my Marvin is suffering from an Oedipus complex!"
"Oedipus-Schmoedipus," scoffed her neighbor, "so long as he loves his mother."
Literature, Schmiterature!
- Being Bindy: Annoyed at Janey's sudden interest in shoes, Bindy thinks, Shoes schmooze.
- Fran Drescher named her second memoir Cancer Schmancer, telling the story of how her life went downhill at one point, including a battle with uterine cancer that left her unable to ever bear children. Five years after its publication, she founded the Cancer Schmancer organization, a non-profit group dedicated to ensuring that all women's cancers be diagnosed while in Stage 1, the most curable stage.
- In one of George Carlin's books, he idly wonders what you do when the original word already begins with "schm," i.e. "Schmidt, Schmidt!"
- The eponymous big cat of Shel Silverstein's Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back does this three times in his first encounter with Finchfinger, who convinces him to leave Africa and join his circus: (1) "Circus, shmircus, dominurcus," (2) "Shooter, shmooter, scooter, booter," and (3) "Ears, shears, a glass of beers."
- In Mindblind, Nathaniel says, "I don't think I am cut out to be a rock star." Jessa says, "Rock star, schmock star." Nathaniel asks what a schmock star is, and Jessa explains that you can replace the beginning of a word with "schm," which Nathaniel finds confusing but funny. Later, when his mom asks if there's something going on between him and Jessa, he says, "Something, schmomething."
- A Series of Unfortunate Events: In "The Wide Window", when Klaus insists to Count Olaf/Captain Sham that Mr. Poe will believe him and his siblings because they're telling the truth, Olaf cynically retorts, "Truth schmuth." The narration proceeds to go into a long Author Tract not only about the usage of this trope, but also how terrible it is that Olaf used it on the word "truth".
- In Donald Westlake's The Spy in the Ointment Eugene and Angela are found by Sun Kut Fu's men while hiding in the attic because the pill alarm on Angela's watch starts ringing and won't turn off. The two of them are locked in a room which used to contain her father's stamp collection.
Angela: I have to take my pills.
Eugene: Pills shmills. - First book of Star Risk, Ltd.: When M'chell is admiring a beautiful view of an Alien Sky, Chas - at the moment in awful mood - comments, "beautiful schmutiful".
Live-Action TV, Schmive-Action TV!
- The Colbert Report had its "Evolution, Schmevolution" Week.
- From Kenan & Kel:
Kenan: Science project, schmience, smo..ject.
- In the David Letterman Top Ten List of "Other O.J. Defense Rhymes" (on both the show and the book), Number one was "Evidence, Schmevidence".
- In the Married... with Children episode "The Joke's on Al", Officer Dan has Griff arrested on the counts of "indecent exposure, murder, cannibalism" as a practical joke. Later, a TV report is seen about his arrest:
Announcer: This news bulletin just in: The Chicago Cannibal has been arraigned for over 100 murders. The cannibal, shown in this picture, says he's innocent, claiming there is no evidence. The D.A. responded by saying, "Evidence, schmevidence".
- An episode of Scrubs had JD claiming he could rhyme anything, but did so by repeating whatever the last person said and invoking this trope. Leading to this punchline to a Brick Joke when he annoys Lavern earlier in a scene;
J.D.: (cheerfully) Eat schmit and die.
- Doctor Who: The Doctor uses it in "The Satan Pit".
The Doctor: Gravity shmavity, my people practically invented the black hole.
- Community:
Jeff: Move on with my life schmove schmon schmith schmy schmife!
- Monty Python's Flying Circus: A courtroom sketch has barrister John Cleese on a runaway talking spree to Judge Terry Jones' irritation.
Judge Mister Bartlett, your client has already pleaded guilty to the parking offence.
Barrister: Parking offence, schmarking offence, m'lord! - Untold Stories of the E.R. has a Granola Girl who ate poisonous mushrooms. She and her husband are both untrusting of medicine and insist on herbal remedies. To the doctor's claim that there is no scientific evidence to support herbal remedies, the husband scoffed, "Science, schmience."
- On Friends, Joey (the womanizer of the group) has a moment when he wants to have a proper girlfriend and experience a real closeness with her, much like Monica and Chandler who were friends first before they got together. However, the advice doesn't work that well and actually leads to a threesome, closeness schmoseness be damned.
Joey: You didn't give me advice! No, you gave me a pickup line! As soon as I told her I wanted to, you know, "build a foundation and be friends first," I suddenly, through no fault of my own, became irresistible to her! And her roommate!
Monica: What about the closeness?
Joey: Closeness, schmoseness! There was three of us for crying out loud! - On an episode of M*A*S*H, Hawkeye, in an effort to stave off boredom, becomes obsessed with the idea of breaking a world record of how many people can fit inside a Jeep. He quickly goes around the camp recruriting volunteers, but one nurse waves him off, claiming she's too shy. He dismisses her objections with "Shy, schmy!"
- Power Rangers:
- In the Power Rangers in Space episode "The Impenetrable Web", Elgar remarks "Megazord, Schmegazord".
- The Power Rangers Lost Galaxy episode "Dream Battle" had Captain Mutiny remark "Plan, schman" in response to Hexuba saying she had a plan in defeating the Rangers.
- The eponymous title of The Joe Schmo Show uses a classic example.
- Schmigadoon! is an obvious play on Brigadoon.
Music, Schmusic!
- In Tom Lehrer's song "Wernher von Braun", from That Was the Year That Was:
Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown.
"Ha, Nazi Schmazi," says Wernher von Braun. - Harry Nilsson's 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson. Later albums also incorporated "Schmilsson" into their titles.
- Wilco's 2016 album Schmilco.
- The verse of the Rewritten Pop Version of "Sue Me" from Guys and Dolls includes the following lines:
So your brow is so high
And my brow is so low.
So brow, schmow,
I'm close to you now... - One of Eartha Kitt's well known songs was "Mink Schmink".
Puppet Shows, Schmuppet Shows!
- Fraggle Rock used this in at least one episode, including "The Preachification of Convincing John." Mokey and an older Fraggle had an argument containing this, leading Mokey to say, "Well, Fraggles, schmaggles," which was apparently the most shocking thing any Fraggle could ever say.
- Muppet*Vision 3D: During the pre-show, Sam the Eagle tries to introduce Mickey Mouse, but in comes Rizzo the Rat in a Mickey costume.
Sam: You are not Mickey Mouse! You are a rat!Rizzo: Rat, schmat! Besides, they're tourists. What do they know?
- In the Sesame Street parody of Downton Abbey, the character based on the Dowager Countess of Grantham is "Lady Schmantham".
Radio, Schmadio!
- In the first part of the three-part Adventures in Odyssey episode "Aloha, Oy!", George Barclay says that they will have a tour guide in Hawaii. Bart Rathbone interrupts him by saying, "Tour guide, schmour guide. What's he gonna show us? The same old things everybody else sees. We don't want that."
Tabletop Games, Schmabletop Games!
- In the write up for the GURPS Lensman character Rachel Ginsberg, the Brooklyn Bombshell, a Glamorous Wartime Singer and comedienne, one of her sample quotes is "Alien shmalien, is it kosher?"
Theatre, Schmeatre!
- In The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged), when God tells Abraham to make a Human Sacrifice out of his son Isaac:
Abraham: Isn't this all a little pagan for a supposedly monotheistic religion?
God: Pagan, shmagan. Do you live in fear of me or not? - In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Rosencrantz tells a series of religious jokes, including one about two early Christians meeting in Heaven:
Ros: "Saul of Tarsus yet!" cried one. "What are you doing there?!" ... "Tarsus schmarsus," replied the other, "I'm Paul, already."
- Talley's Folly: Matt the German Jew says "refugees, smefugees" when Sally asks if he came to America with a group of refugees. (The play is set in 1944.)
Video Games, Schmideo Games!
- ANNO: Mutationem: A customer at the weapons shop is dismayed that the blade he is searching for isn't available in the city, calling it a "particle blade, smarticle blade".
- Appears many many times in the Borderlands games, especially the second.
"Hyperion says: permanent death, schmermanent... schmeth."
- In Civilization II, one of the possible responses when rejecting the demands of another civilization is: "Consequences, schmonsequences!"
- In Dissidia Final Fantasy, when Terra defeats Kefka, the former's assertion that life has meaning is rebuffed in this fashion by the latter:
Kefka: Why create, when it will only be destroyed? Why cling to life, knowing that you have to die? None of it will have meant anything once you do!
Terra: We live to protect what we hold dear. As long as you have that, you can find the meaning on your own.
Kefka: Meaning, schmeaning! This whole world's going bye-bye! You included! - One idle tycoon game is called Idle Smidle.
- In Fate/Grand Order Lostbelt 6: Avalon le Fae, Grímr the Sage uses this phrasing when Altria Caster questions her qualifications to complete the fairy of paradise’s duty.
Grímr: “Qualifications, shmalifications. None of that matters. Cernunnos’s curse will weaken once the faerie of paradise who rang the Bells of Pilgrimage returns to paradise.”
- In LittleBigPlanet 2, one of the music tracks is called "Disco Shmisco".
- In Moshi Monsters, the Movie, when Furi and Katsuma were eating candy found on the ground, it leads to this.
Poppet: "Careful, Furi! My journal says this area is extremely dangerous!"
Furi: (eats candy) "Not dangerous, delicious!"
Katsuma: "Yeah, journal-schmournal, it looks pretty sweet to me!" - In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, this exchange occurs if Phoenix accuses Lotta:
Von Karma: Who but the defendant could have shot the victim!?
Phoenix: Who else but the witness, Ms. Lotta Hart!
Judge: Wh-what!? Do you have proof of this!?
Phoenix: Proof-shmoof! Always with the proof! Oh... wait, I do need proof, don't I?
Judge: Mr. Wright! I'll have you remember this is a court of law!
Phoenix: (Uh oh. The Judge is mad.) - In Puyo Puyo Tetris, Ess is annoyed by Amitie upon first meeting her, calling her a "weirdo" and retorting with "Magic schmagic!" after Amitie mentions she's working to be a powerful magician.
Web Animation, Schmeb Animation!
- Homestar Runner:
- In the Strong Bad Email "video games", Strong Bad discusses vague text parsers in text adventure games.
Strong Bad: And you'd be all like "get ye flask", and it'd say "You can't get ye flask", and you'd just have to sit there and imagine why on Earth you can't get ye flask! Because the game's certainly not going to tell you.
(the screen displays the message "I'm certainly not going to tell thou.")
Strong Bad: And there no precious graphics to help, either.
(the screen displays the message "Graphics shmaphics... for sooth!") - A variant from "part-time job":
Bubs: Pictures with the Tragic Clown Dog ain't free! 50 bucks! 60 bucks! Get back here and let me confiscate your film!
Coach Z: Chorsh, frorsh! (runs off with Pom Pom)
- In the Strong Bad Email "video games", Strong Bad discusses vague text parsers in text adventure games.
- Red vs. Blue: The Shisno Paradox: In "Lost Time", Sarge and Simmons argue over about what to do with the time portal guns.
Simmons: We live in a world of science, Sarge. There's no such thing as magic. Doesn't this scare you?
Sarge: Scared, shmared, Simmons! We've got an objective to tackle.
[…]
Simmons: We have a thing to study.
Sarge: Study, shmudy, you fuddy-duddy!
Simmons: But nothing about this situation makes any sense!
Sarge: Sense, shmense, Simmons!
Simmons: That's incredibly talented, but you can't rhyme your way out of everything.
Sarge: Smeverything.
Simmons: It's dangerous to use it—
Sarge: Blangerous.
Simmons: —without knowing what we're doing!
Web Comics, Schmeb Comics!
- Adventurers!: Strip #349 is titled "Skyrian Shmyrian."
- In Bob and George, Regulations, schmegulations — comic title.
Web Original, Schmeb Original!
- TV Tropes:
- Critical Role: There's an extensive amount of Writing Around Trademarks in Critical Role and the Club of Misfits, which starts from renaming Hogwarts into Shmogwarts, and then just proceeds down the slippery slope.
- From My Roommate Mario: Like a Boss. Also used as a bit of Ironic Echo near the end of the video, by Bowser of all characters.
Daneboe: I know you're trying to teach the dog new tricks, but can you tone it down? I need to work on this resume for today!
Mario: Resume, shmesume. Just bust in there and say "It's a-me, Daneboe!"
Daneboe: Yes, yes, I know that works for you, but this is real life!
Western Animation, Schmestern Animation!
- Big City Greens: In "Squashed", Gwendolyn says "Risky, shmisky!" when talking in defense of Bill's fear over the compound.
- Ed, Edd n Eddy: The "Who, What, Where, Ed" episode has this exchange.
Kevin: Fine, you can have the sawdust. I'll trade you for painting my shed.
Eddy: Trade, Schmade! Paint your own lousy shed! - Looney Tunes:
- Bugs Bunny short Ali Baba Bunny: After collecting a load of treasure, Daffy Duck gets a genie angry by cramming him back inside his lamp.
Genie: Duck, you have desecrated the Spirit of the Lamp! Prepare to face the consequences!
Daffy: Consequences schmonsequences... as long as I'm rich.
(Genie reduces him to tiny size) - Another Merrie Melodies cartoon, Hobo Bobo, tells the story of Bobo the baby elephant, who didn't like his job in India — carrying logs with his trunk. Eventually he joins a circus in the United States, where they had performing elephants playing baseball. The Narrator tells us, "He is now the official batboy."
Bobo: Batboy, shmatboy, I'm still carryin' logs!
- Another cartoon featuring Porky Pig as a talent agent had him sit up and take notice of a two headed man who walks into his office. When Porky asks what his act is, the two headed man (using both mouths) says "Act, schmact! I'm the janitor!" while emptying a wastebasket.
- In "The Windblown Hare," Bugs tells the wolf to blown down the brick house the pigs are in.
Wolf: I can't blow the brick house down. It says so in the book.
Bugs: Book shmook! Blow the house down! - Bugs Bunny short Ali Baba Bunny: After collecting a load of treasure, Daffy Duck gets a genie angry by cramming him back inside his lamp
- Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: In "Kaz Almighty", Kaz gets mistaken for a deity of an island tribe. The girls do all they can to convince the people that Kaz isn't the real god. At the end of the episode, Kaz gets found out... because he hid coconuts. At the end of the episode, before Ami, Yumi, and their manager flee:
Kaz: But... I'm the Kaz!
Ami: Kaz, Schmaz! Let's get the heck off this island!
Yumi: Wah-taaaah!!! (activates catapult, the three get sent flying) - The Owl House: In "Thanks to Them", when Vee pulls up a 'Find a Phone' app to locate Luz, the slogan for the app is "Privacy Schmivacy".
- The Venture Bros. episode "Hate Floats": One of the Monarch's henchmen has a closet full of toys that he proposes to use for the group to battle their way out of a bad situation. At one point he says, "Toys, schmoys!"
- Viva Pińata: One episode is titled "Mirror Schmirror".
- King of the Hill: Dale Gribble attempts to do this in one episode, but he gets tripped up trying to say "Mask, Schmask."
- The Simpsons:
- From "Bart's Friend Falls in Love":
Bart: How would I go about creating a half-man, half-monkey-type creature?
Mrs. Krabappel: I'm sorry, that would be playing God.
Bart: God-schmod, I want my monkey man. - And "Lisa the Skeptic" loves it.
Lisa: Hey, they can't just build a parking lot on Saber Tooth meadow! That's where they found all those fossils!
Homer: Fossils schmossils. You can't stop progress because of some moldy old bones! Bones schmones.- And later the same episode, "facts schmacts".
- From "Any Given Sundance":
Chalmers: Think bigger, Seymour. Think film festival.
Skinner: You mean Bamff?
Chalmers: Bamff, Schmamff! I'm taking about Sundance!
- From "Bart's Friend Falls in Love":
- The South Park episode "Rainforest Schmainforest".
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic does this every once in a while, especially Rainbow Dash seems to be fond of it.
- "Bridle Gossip"
Twilight Sparkle: Curses, Schmurses
- "The Return of Harmony - Part 2"
Rainbow Dash: Loyalty, Schmoyalty. Have you guys seen Ponyville? It's a DISASTER!
- "Fall Weather Friends":
Rainbow Dash: Easy Schmeasy!
- "Bridle Gossip"
- When CatDog becomes cowboys in the rodeo, Rancid Rabbit tells them to take the fall for a huge bull because the audience favors him according to a phone survey. Dog replies with, "Phone survey, schmone schmurvey!"
- In the Sheep in the Big City episode "Mistaken Identi-Sheep", Lady Richington responds to the news of a bank robbery by saying "Bank, schmank", then responds to the follow-up story of a robbed supermarket by saying, "Supermarket, schmupermar... oh, who cares?" The third report, which turns out to be about her entire mansion being robbed (while she was in it) is met with a Big "NO!".
- In Futurama, from "Where No Fan Has Gone Before".
Computer: Warning: You are now in forbidden space.
Bender: Forbidden shmer-shmidden! - The Perils of Penelope Pitstop:
- From the episode "Wild West Peril", as the Ant Hill Mob try to tunnel under the shack where Penelope is bound:
Yak-Yak: What a time to strike oil!
Clyde: Oil shmoil! Let's go, men! - From the episode "Hair Raising Harness Race", after the Hooded Claw captures the Ant Hill Mob, who are dressed as policemen:
Clyde: You're under arrest!
Hooded Claw: Arrest shmest! - From the episode "Wild West Peril", as the Ant Hill Mob try to tunnel under the shack where Penelope is bound:
- SpongeBob SquarePants:
- In the episode "Life of Crime", Spongebob asks Mr. Krabs if it's wrong to borrow something without asking for the owner's permission, he responds with "permission schmermission!"
- There's a later episode called "Seance Schmeance".
- Another attempt by Plankton to go after the Krabby Patty formula
Karen: Don't you have a plan?Plankton: Plan-schman, I'm just gonna wing it.- In "Kwarantined Krab", Plankton boasts "Quarantine shmorentine" upon exiting the quarantined Krusty Krab. He gets burned into crisp half a sentence later.
- Rugrats:
- Grandpa Boris speaks this way often. There's a bit of a Genius Bonus with Boris using this expression since he's a Russian Jew and it's of Yiddish origin.
Didi: Your house isn't really childproof.
Boris: Childproof schmildproof! - Boris does it again when he and Lou get into a Game Night Fight over the rules of a card game they're playing:
Boris: Friendly game, Schmendly game!
- Another one involving Lou muttering in his sleep
Lou: Dust bowl schmust bowl, I ain't moving to California!
- Grandpa Boris speaks this way often. There's a bit of a Genius Bonus with Boris using this expression since he's a Russian Jew and it's of Yiddish origin.
- In The Powerpuff Girls (1998) episode "Twas the Fight Before Christmas".
Santa: LIST, SCHMIST!!!
- Bump in the Night:
- The show had two segments both titled "Comfort Schmumfort". One is a regular episode about Molly Coddle single-handedly rescuing her friends Mr. Bumpy and Squishington from the aliens Sleemoth and Gloog after the aliens dismissed her as being harmless, while the other was a Karaoke Cafe segment where Molly Coddle sang about her desire to take a break from tending to her friends' injuries.
- The episode "Better Homes and Garbage" has Squishington offer to make every moment during his stay at Mr. Bumpy's place a living shrine to pleasing him. Bumpy replies "Shrine, Schmine."
- In "Farewell 2 Arms", Molly Coddle starts replacing parts of her body with more powerful limbs. When stating that she only needs one new thing, Mr. Bumpy asks if what she wants is a new dress. Molly replies "Dress, schmess" before revealing that what she means is a new head.
- In "Love Stinks', Odiferous J. Stentch retorts "late, schmate" in response to Molly Coddle trying to get away from him by saying it's getting late.
- In the Christmas Episode "'Twas the Night Before Bumpy", Mr. Bumpy says "Compass, bumpass" in response to Squishington stating that a compass could come in handy on their journey to the North Pole.
- The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show had an episode titled "Alien Schmalien".
- In the Thomas & Friends episode "Creaky Cranky", Thomas tells Cranky about the party that the Duke and Duchess of Boxford are having, and Cranky says "Party, schmarty", since he doesn't go to parties due to him being stuck at the docks.
- In the Hoops And Yoyo Christmas special hoops&Yoyo Ruin Christmas, Kris Kringle thinks the toy he plans to enter for the toymaking contest could be repainted burgundy. Yoyo replies "Burgundy schmurgundy, it looks fine."
- In the Teacher's Pet episode "Let Sleeping-Over Dogs Lie", Ian expresses his disappointment in not being able to scare Spot and Leonard during his birthday sleepover. When Spot replies that mundane party activities are their culture's way of saying "happy birthday", Ian retorts with "culture, schmulture".
- In Season 3 of ReBoot, as part of his plan to undermine Enzo's image in the eyes of the Mainframe denizens, Megabyte sends Cyrus to place posters depicting Enzo cross-eyed with the words "Guardian Schmardian".
- When Mr. Peanutbutter of BoJack Horseman wanted to run for governor of California, his understandably alarmed agent suggested instead he could just play the governor in a movie, and that she could attach real-life television director Tommy Schlamme to direct. He responds “Tommy Schlamme Schmommy Schlamme!”, getting visibly confused the further he gets into the tongue-twister.
- Seven Little Monsters: The episode "All the Marbles" has Mama remark "Commercial, schmercial" in response to seeing her son Seven get enthralled by the Monster Marbles advertisement on TV.
- The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius: In the episode "Maximum Hugh", this is Hugh's reaction after Cindy's mom insults him for his speech to Jimmy about the fellowship of sport, prompting him to disregard it so that he and Jimmy can beat the Vortexes.
Jimmy Neutron: But Dad, what happened to the fellowship of sport?
Hugh Neutron: Sport, shmort. Losing blows eggwater. Now, let's kick some Vortex hiney!
Real Life, Schmeal Life!
- During a staff meeting of the Israeli government in 1955, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion responded to a comment about Israel owing its existence to the UN with the words "Um shmum,"* UM being the acronym for the United Nations in Hebrew.note
- In Portland, Oregon, there's a pizza chain called Pizza Schmizza. It got its name when the founder's father told him, "Pizza schmizza — get a real job."
- Used in a Rhode Island Supreme Court case, where the perpetrator ran away and after being caught 16 years later claimed that his right to a speedy trial has been violated:
"Given defendant's chutzpah in attempting to profit in this case by his own wrongdoing, we resist the temptation to let 'speedy, schmeedy' serve as our sole response to this contention."
- Political scientist and populism expert Dr Duncan McDonnell coined the word "schmopulism" for parties or movements that are not actually populist, but are defined as such by their opponents as a way of dismissing them.
- Languages from the Balkan sprachbund, notably Bulgarian, have a similar reduplication, only with "m-" as a prefix instead of "-shm" ("word-mord"), mostly reserved for expressing the sentiment of "doesn't matter what exactly it is".
- "Joe Shmoe" is a common slang nickname for The Everyman, as in "Joe, whoever."
