A Yiddish expression for rags, old clothing, and used goods in general. It derives from the Polish szmata (cloth, rags; also a term for a slovenly person). Since the late Middle Ages, pawning, repairing, and reselling used clothing or other used objects was a customary field of activity for Jewish small-scale traders in Central and Eastern Europe. Later it was practiced mainly by Jewish immigrants in Western Europe and America, where…