Schlub

From Yiddish זשלאָב (zhlob, “goyish bumpkin, redneck”), derived from Polish żłób (“manger, trough; furrow, large groove in the soil”). Compare Russian жлоб (žlob). While the word is superficially similar in both meaning and sound to the common English term slob, the two words are not believed to be etymologically related. Originated in Eastern Europe as part of klezmer musician cant (Klezmer-loshn). In its original sense, the word only applied to non-Jewish males. Strom (2002) lists "zhlobukhe-elzet" as a synonym, "zhlobevke" and "zlobike" (זלאָביקע) as female counterparts. The precise nature of the semantic leap from "manger, crib" to "boorish goy" remains unclear. In any case, by the year 1869, it had become common enough to be included in a Russian-Yiddish dictionary published in Zhytomyr. Jewish immigrants brought the word to the United States, where it is best known under the form schlub. In the Russosphere, the word жлоб (žlob, “schlub, miser”) spread seemingly through criminal slang, which is considerably influenced by the Odessan dialect of Russian.