Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Slang A characteristic attribute, talent, or trait that is helpful in securing recognition or attention: waiters in tropical attire are part of the restaurant's shtick.
- n. Slang An entertainment routine or gimmick.
Wiktionary
- n. A characteristic trait or theme.
- n. A gimmick.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A person's special talent, line of business, or habitual activity.
- n. (Show business) A comic routine or a specific gag inserted in a show for laughs.
WordNet 3.0
- n. (Yiddish) a contrived and often used bit of business that a performer uses to steal attention
- n. (Yiddish) a devious trick; a bit of cheating
- n. (Yiddish) a prank or piece of clowning
- n. (Yiddish) a little; a piece
Etymologies
- From Yiddish שטיק (shtik, "piece"), cognate to German Stück. (Wiktionary)
- Yiddish shtik, piece, routine, from Middle High German stücke, piece, from Old High German stukki, crust, fragment. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“You know your shtick is as stale and inept as Bush when he left office patsy!”
Think Progress » San Francisco Commonwealth Club postpones O’Keefe event.
“I kept getting distracted by how villain Growing Man looked like a Sentinel, although his shtick is the classic “every time you hit him, he gets bigger, so how do you stop him without engaging him directly?””
“The whole problem with the RealAmerica shtick is the way they define it, RealAmericans are going to get consistently outvoted.”
“Still, if you know me and have been paying attention to my thesis updates, etc, you'll know my shtick is all about what things are unique about videogames, and that we should be trying our best to capitalise on them.”
“The show has perfected the formula of well-chosen guest stars (Daily Show vets Rob Corddry and John Oliver, alt-comedy god Patton Oswalt, and, yes, Betty White, who's better in small doses like this week's cameo); snappy, pop-reference-rich dialogue; physical shtick from the masterful likes of Chevy Chase and Ken Jeong; and unexpected moments of M*A*S*H/Scrubs-esque sincerity.”
“Emmy nominations are out; Tina Fey's Sarah Palin shtick got a nod.”
“My whole shtick is putting twenty-six letters, ten numbers, and twenty-odd punctuation marks in an order that makes people cringe and guffaw and wet themselves and hide under the bed.”
“Lily Allen's whole shtick is light, happy music contrasted with her lyrics.”
The Huffington Post: Tim Mohr: Exclusive Valentine's Day DJ Mix From Doctor Rosen Rosen (Plus Q&A)
“But you want to have a little respect for your elders, young man, and your whole “chagrin” shtick is a little sad.”
“Her shtick is talking to Americans from every walk of life with interest and connection.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘shtick’.
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Yiddishkeit
There are a few short lists of Yiddish words, but none appropriate to the glory of the language, and none that are open. Thought I'd start one, and would love contributions. I'm tagging as I go, an...
schmuck, nosh, chutzpah, shtick, kvetch, oy vey, oy gevalt, shvitz, shtik, shiksa, putz, mensch and 94 more...
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NTDW2
yawp, amidships, smug, jounce, fallow, conscionable, polyp, whit, nouveau riche, palatial, encomiastic, exchequer and 182 more...
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Ick!
Inspired by madmouth's Ugh! list.
brick, quick, airsick, lick, rollick, click, crick, kick, candlestick, cowlick, Toothpick, ickle and 17 more...
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inkhorn's Words
inkhorn, aplomb, apotheosis, asinine, avatar, bombastic, boorish, bromide, bucolic, cagey, canvass, digress and 991 more...
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Don Martin
Sound affects by the ridiculous cartoonist Don Martin
toob, tweeb, sklishk, kachunk-kachunka-..., ging, zap, zap-pow, thwizzit!, zzzzzz, sploydoing, shlik, plablablabl and 213 more...
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stpeter's Words
abase, abasement, abashed, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abhorrent, abide, abject, ablation, abnegation and 3536 more...
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lanklenmot's Words
ineluctable, prelapsarian, bien pensant, prospero, preternatural, gratifying, iconoclast, cineast, persnickety, tumescent, galvanize, pap and 887 more...
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Words of the Day
glabella, chirotony, nook-shotten, crapehanger, filemot, swirlie, egosurf, lexiphanicism, Ruritanian, stichometry, chrononaut, faldstool and 2041 more...
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Kaichi's Wordie Darlings, or I'm a Lo...
persnickety, discombobulated, braggadoccio, anthropomorphous, antelucan, confluxible, anomalous, poseur, gallivant, poppycock, falderal, gewgaw and 705 more...
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Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)
Words from 2009 'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past' film.
ravishing, juggle, rehearsal, in bulk, hoard, miser, detract, appendage, ordain, slick, scent, innuendo and 68 more...
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Yiddish
schpilkis, kibosh, chutzpah, schlep, nosh, kvetch, mensch, meshugga, schmaltz, schmaltzy, schtick, klezmer and 4 more...
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tiffani's Words
commentariat, hibakusha, nonpareil, nonplussed, jerrybuilt, lodestar, soi-disant, rout, shtick, pols, supplicant, diffident and 49 more...
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Smiley's Words
persuadable, controversialist, enthusiast, perverse, subversive, vulnerable, bemused, superficial, disrupted, subtle, nuanced, flavorful and 26 more...
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yiddish
a rich vein
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yiddish words
meshuggener, schlep, yenta, kvetch, shtick, chutzpah, nosh, schmuck
Tweets
Looking for tweets for shtick.

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