# "Facts, Shmacks", etc.  Where did that phrase come from?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-shmacks-etc-where-did-that-phrase-come-from/525484
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 18, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-shmacks-etc-where-did-that-phrase-come-from/525484 "2010-01-18T23:25:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Smitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Smitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smitty)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-shmacks-etc-where-did-that-phrase-come-from/525484/1 "2010-01-18T23:25:46Z")

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You know the pattern. Person A says, “Blah.” Person B retorts, “Blah, Shmah,” as if this refutes the argument. We all know person B is really saying, “That argument of yours is meaningless.”

But why? Where did that come from?

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### Author: ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-shmacks-etc-where-did-that-phrase-come-from/525484/2 "2010-01-18T23:33:41Z")

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It’s Yiddish.

> **[Yiddish, shmiddish–why do we repeat a word but start it with "shm-"?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343129/yiddish-shmiddish-why-do-we-repeat-a-word-but-start-it-with-shm)**
>
> A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD

ETA: Or more accurately, it’s a rhetorical device of Yiddish origin that’s used in English.

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### Author: ![Smitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Smitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smitty)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-shmacks-etc-where-did-that-phrase-come-from/525484/3 "2010-01-18T23:35:40Z")

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Ah. Excellent. Thanks.

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### Author: ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-shmacks-etc-where-did-that-phrase-come-from/525484/4 "2010-01-19T12:53:29Z")

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Thanks for providing the link, **Hypnagogic Jerk**.

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### Author: ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-shmacks-etc-where-did-that-phrase-come-from/525484/5 "2010-01-19T14:13:29Z")

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Wiki calls it [Shm-reduplication](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shm-reduplication), one of my favorite Wikipedia article titles.

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### Author: ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-shmacks-etc-where-did-that-phrase-come-from/525484/6 "2010-01-19T15:57:45Z")

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I remember wher I first heard it:

“Consequences shmansequences as long as I’m rich.” - _Daffy Duck_

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### Author: ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facts-shmacks-etc-where-did-that-phrase-come-from/525484/7 "2010-01-19T16:15:16Z")

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“Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that’s even remotely true! Facts, shmacks.” - _Homer Simpson_