tummler

American  

[toom-ler] / ˈtʊm lər /

noun

1. a male entertainer, as formerly employed by resorts in the Catskill Mountains, who combined the duties of a comedian, activities director, and master of ceremonies to keep the guests amused throughout the day.

2. any lively, prankish, or mischievous man.

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tummler British  

/ ˈtʌmlə /

noun

1. a comedian or other entertainer employed to encourage audience participation or to encourage guests at a resort to take part in communal activities

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Etymology

Origin of tummler

First recorded in 1930–35; from Yiddish tumler “one who makes a racket or stir,” equivalent to tuml(en) “to make a racket” + -er; compare Middle High German getümel “noise”; see -er ¹; see origin at tumble

Example Sentences

When he said he doesn’t understand himself even after 40 years of analysis, he sounded almost like a borscht belt tummler.

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2021

It was part hortatory, part personal testimony, part barstool blowhard, a rambling, disjointed, digressive, what-me-worry approach that combined aspects of cable television rage, big-tent religious revivalism, Borscht Belt tummler, motivational speaking, and YouTube vlogging.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2020

In the staid world of academic Yiddishists, Eddy Portnoy is a live wire, a funny guy, a mischief-maker, what they used to call in the Catskills, a tummler.

From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2017

It was the big man who ran the joint, the tummler who knew where to seat Caspar Weinberger or Jack Kent Cooke and could kibitz with the customers.

From Washington Post • Jul. 14, 2015

Towards evening we saw some dolphins, called also tummler, or tumblers, as well as several gulls, which announced to us that we were fast nearing the sea.

From A Woman's Journey Round the World by Pfeiffer, Ida