smous, noun

/sməʊs//smaʊs/
Forms:
schmous, smausShow more Also schmous, smaus, smouse.
Plurals:
smouses, smouse/sməʊsə/, rarely schmousen.
Origin:
South African Dutch, Dutch, GermanShow more South African Dutch, hawker, pedlar, transferred use of Dutch smous ‘Jew, usurer, supposed to be the same word as German dialectal schmus talk, patter’ (OED); cf. Yiddish schmooz, schmooze, shmooz, shmooze heart-to-heart talk, from Hebrew schmuos ‘(originally) “things heard”; (in time) “rumors”, “idle talk”.’ (L. Rostein, The joys of Yiddish 1968).
Note:
The obsolete spellings ‘smaus’ and ‘smouse’ suggest that /-aʊ-/ was a common pronunciation in the past.
Especially during the 19th century: a (Jewish) itinerant trader; a peddler; a hawker; smouch noun; smouser. Also attributive. See also togt-ganger (togt noun sense 1 b).
1796 E. Helme tr. of F. Le Vaillant’s Trav. I. 55There is at the Cape a species of old-clothes men..who from their enormous profits and the extortion they practice have obtained the name of Capse-Smouse, or Cape Jews.
1806 J. Barrow Trav. II. 331His load..may consist of fifteen hundred weight of butter and soap, for which he is glad to get from the retail dealers at the Cape, whom he calls Smaus or Jew, sixpence a pound.
1827 G. Thompson Trav. 136Brandy (the only luxury besides tobacco in which the poorer boors indulge) is purchased from smouses, or hawkers, who traverse the remotest skirts of the Colony with waggon-loads of this detestable beverage.
1832 Graham’s Town Jrnl 74That useful and industrious class of people the Smouses, to whose spirit of enterprize this town is maily indebted for its rapid rise.
1864 T. Baines Explor. in S.-W. Afr. 75The chief Jan Jonken came to visit us, and..complained that all the ‘Smouses’ hurried past as fast as possible, so that if the Hottentots wanted clothing or other goods they had to run after the wagons.
1872 E.J. Dunn in A.M.L. Robinson Sel. Articles from Cape Monthly Mag. (1978) 58Under a handsome spreading camel-thorn tree is pitched a very tiny tent. Within is a ‘smous’ with his wares.
1882 C. Du Val With Show through Sn Afr. I. 272The wily ‘smouse’ or pedlar..still in a minor degree glories in the successful manner in which he is able to best the ‘Mynheers’ in the matter of buying and selling, swap and barter, profit and loss.
1900 B. Mitford Aletta 21They saw no one month in month out, save an occasional Boer passer-by, or a travelling smaus, or feather-buyer, usually of a tolerably low type of Jew — and therefore, socially, no acquisition.
1919 J.Y. Gibson in S. Afr. Jrnl of Science July 3Until late in the 19th century the ‘smous,’ or itinerant trader was a common visitant, carrying his wares in a Kap-tent wagon to remote habitations of trekkers and settlers.
1925 H.J. Mandelbrote tr. of O.F. Mentzel’s Descr. of Cape of G.H. II. 75Voyagers..are sometimes badly ‘stung’ in their dealings with rascally sailors and..are apt to classify all Cape inhabitants as ‘schmousen,’ or even rogues. [Source Note: Hawkers or pedlars.]
1916 J. Buchan Greenmantle 261I met a Peruvian Smouse and sold him my clothes and bought from him these. [Source Note: Peter meant a Polish-Jew pedlar.]
1937 C.R. Prance Tante Rebella’s Saga I. 272The smous could always be relied on to bring a good pack of news or lies, but he would not open it until business in the contents of his other packs had been encouraging.
1937 H. Sauer Ex Afr. 12The arrival of the smous on a Boer farm always created a little excitement. The smous was a sort of travelling merchant, who went all over South Africa, visiting nearly every farmstead.
1944 J. Mockford Here Are S. Africans 64Concertinas and mouth-organs were brought to the outspans by far-travelling pedlars or smouse, as they were called.
1949 L.G. Green In Land of Afternoon 142Another duty of the smous was to bring news of the outside world.
1949 O. Walker Proud Zulu (1951) 31He knew John had been in the wrong, but he was not prepared to be told so by a bunch of traders whom he despised as glorified peddlers and ‘smouses’.
1956 S.D. Neumark Economic Influences on S. Afr. Frontier (1956) 145The smous is known to have played an important part in the frontier economy during the time of the Great Trek (in the 1830’s). It was usual for him to come to the remote farms with two or three wagonloads of wares containing articles of clothing, groceries, and most other things required by the colonists.
1968 K. McMagh Dinner of Herbs 32As the population grew and the settlers moved further afield the smous followed and took to the road, bearing his pack on his back until such time as his profits enabled him to afford first a cart and horses and later a wagon and oxen.
1976 Het Suid-Western 26 May 1George Flip S—, a fish smous of Boekenhout Street, George.
1977 S. Afr. Panorama Mar. 25An important facet of Jewish life was found outside the main centres. Now part of history is the figure of the ‘smous’ or travelling salesman, who was often the farmer’s only contact with the outside world.
1980 Daily Dispatch 23 Aug. 3He left school at the age of 13! At that age, Willie took employment with a travelling pedlar (smouse) and went with him from farm to farm and so earned his first wages.
1980 B. Setuke in M. Mutloatse Forced Landing 64The only people, other than the train-gang, who have free passage between one coach and the next, are the smouses, who..are a force to be reckoned with.
1984 S. Gray Three Plays 134(Enter Abraham Goldenstein, aged about forty; dirty, unkempt and bearded like many a smous dealer)...Jacob:..I never sell my farm to a Jewish smous!
1984 M. Mthethwa in Frontline July 29Smouses — self-appointed train hawkers — are..found in almost every train.
1991 I. Berelowitz in Weekend Argus 26 Jan. (Weekender) 2He began his business career as a smous, a Jewish itinerant trader in the Western Cape, travelling by horse and cart and selling mainly articles required by farmers.
1992 Natal Mercury 2 Nov. 7A thorough knowledge of merchandise — a ‘feel for the goods’ — is known in the retail industry as the key to success. Trevor K—..has that ‘smous’ instinct.
1993 A. Bristowe in Business Day 25 Feb. 6Milton Sahin..says the image of the smous and pioneer Jewish trader and his relationship with the Afrikaner farmer has been glorified and mythologised.
a (Jewish) itinerant trader; a peddler; a hawker; smouch noun; smouser. Also attributive.
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smouch, verb intransitivev.smous, verbv.
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