schlep
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʃlɛp/
rhymes: -ɛp
Forms: form: schleps
form: schlepping
form: schlepped
form: schlepped
form: schlepp
form: shlep
form: shlepp
Etymology: From Yiddish שלעפּן (shlepn, “to drag”), from Middle High German slepen, from Middle Low German slêpen, from or related to Old High German sleifen (“to drag”) and slifan (“to slip”), from Proto-West Germanic *sleupan.
Compare German schleppen (“to haul”) and its inherited doublet schleifen (“to drag”), Dutch slepen (“to drag”), Danish slæbe (“to haul”).
Senses: examples: text: I'm exhausted after schlepping those packages around all day.
text: Queen Elizabeth will schlep along 95 pieces of baggage on her trip here.
ref: 1957 September 29, Paul Sann, New York Post:
text: Yet what does the universe do to me? It schleps me to Sherwood Forest—and a Sherwood Forest like spotlessly sans Kevin Costner, no less—and then schleps me to your house, then schleps me to God—and I do mean God—knows where, […]
ref: 1993, George Alec Effinger, Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson, New York, N.Y.: Guild America Books, →ISBN, page 100:
text: My son has a terrible marriage. His lazy wife lies in bed all morning and doesn't even make him breakfast. Then she spends the afternoon at the beauty parlor, and as soon as my son gets home from a hard day's work, she shleps him out to a restaurant. My daughter, on the other hand, has a perfect marriage. Her husband lets her sleep late in the morning, insists that she go to the beauty parlor, and then takes her out to dinner every night.
ref: 1997, Alan M[orton] Dershowitz, “Be a Mensch!: The Ethical Solution to the Jewish Question of the Twenty-first Century”, in The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century, Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 259:
text: Schlepping is Yiddish for "toting or dragging around," and a quintessentially New York City kind of term. New Yorkers schlep food, household goods, and any conceivable purchase on the subways, up the stairs, on elevators, and on buses. Some also schlep goods on bicycles and motor scooters. Whichever downtown you choose, you'll practice your own version of schlepping.
ref: 2006, Kyle Ezell, Retire Downtown: The Lifestyle Destination for Active Retirees and Empty Nesters, Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Publishing, →ISBN, page 49:
text: We find that what people think is secondary in importance to how people think. What people think, in our opinion, the what, should be viewed as a vehicle that schleps—scientific language—that schleps the how.
ref: 2008, James Harding, Alpha Dogs: How Political Spin Became a Global Business, London: Atlantic Books, →ISBN:
text: It’s impossible to find harmony in an outfit when you have to schlep five kilos of kit with you in order to manage the post-workout transformation. Of course, I could change at work. But this would entail using the office showers. And I would sooner venture into Mordor.
ref: 2017 November 16, Jo Ellison, “Help: the gym has turned us into slobs”, in Financial Times:
glosses: To carry, drag, or lug.
examples: text: I schlepped down to the store for some milk.
text: You are not doing a lot of heavy thinking when you are schlepping; you are performing useful but perhaps menial labor, usually in the service of someone else. Schlepping is not very glorious, but nonetheless one should not underestimate its importance. First of all, just because you are schlepping does not mean you are forbidden to think. In fact, just the opposite is true: Because the work content of schlepping includes little thinking, you can use this time to think and learn while you schlep. Many creative ideas occur during schlepping. For instance, how can I schlep this stuff with less effort?
ref: 2005, Joe Marasco, The Software Development Edge: Essays on Managing Successful Projects, Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Addison-Wesley, →ISBN:
text: 'I've schlepped all over town trying to find you.' Her tone was almost scolding as she stepped forward and grabbed her daughter in an elaborate hug.
ref: 2014, Amanda Prowse, Christmas for One, London: Head of Zeus, →ISBN:
glosses: To go, as on an errand; to carry out a task.
examples: text: I just schlepped around the house on Sunday.
synonyms: schlump
glosses: To act in a slovenly, lazy, or sloppy manner.