Meaning of shtick in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /ʃtɪk/

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    UK accent Play button

  1. Noun

    shtick

    Etymology

    1960s: Yiddish, from German Stück‘piece’

    Definitions

    1. (Yiddish) a little

    Examples

    • « a piece »
    • « give him a shtik cake »
    • « he's a shtik crazy »
    • « he played a shtik Beethoven »
  2. 2. (Yiddish) a contrived and often used bit of business that a performer uses to steal attention

    Examples

    • « play it straight with no shtik »
  3. 3. (Yiddish) a prank or piece of clowning

    Examples

    • « his shtik made us laugh »
  4. 4. (Yiddish) a devious trick

    Examples

    • « a bit of cheating »
    • « how did you ever fall for a shtik like that? »

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