It’s not, actually. Some people thought it was, but apparently the creators had never heard of smegma before and it was just an unfortunate coincidence.
Lexicographer Tony Thorne, in his 1990 Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (ISBN 0-7475-2856-X), reports instances of “smeg” (and derivatives) being used as a term of “mild contempt and even affection” among “schoolboys, students and punks” as early as the mid-1970s — a decade or so prior to the inception of the Red Dwarf phenomenon — and claims unequivocally that the etymology of the term traces back to “smegma”.
It’s short for smegma, i.e. dick cheese.
It’s not, actually. Some people thought it was, but apparently the creators had never heard of smegma before and it was just an unfortunate coincidence.
The creators may claim as much, but…
Alright, alright, people coming out of the woodwork to tell me about smegma, Jesus. You win the dick cheese argument. 'Gratz.
And people say this server doesn’t have any value!