schmaltz

noun

1. (uncountable)Rendered chicken or goose fat.

   “Even now, as medical science has given a nod to the moderate consumption of saturated animal fats, and the culinary elite has fallen hard for the likes of lard, tallow and duck fat, poor schmaltz remains the babushka-clad cousin not invited to the table. This is a shame, because schmaltz is one the most versatile and flavorful fats you can use.”

2. (derogatory, figuratively, uncountable)Excessively sentimental art or music.

   “Are you moved because the disco soundscape of “Moon Crystal” reminds you of TV shows from long ago, or because those high, whining violins over funk guitar are eternally gorgeous? […] Schmaltz is schmaltz, and it can make life worth living.”

   “The cost, for [George] Saunders, of moving beyond the stylized violence of his early stories seems to be the transmutation of a portion of his violence into schmaltz.”

name

1. A surname from German.