shtick

or shtik

[ shtik ]

/ ʃtɪk /

Save This Word!

noun Slang.

(especially in comic acting) a routine or piece of business inserted to gain a laugh or draw attention to oneself.

one's special interest, talent, etc.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Also schtick, schtik .

Origin of shtick

First recorded in 1955–60; from Yiddish shtik “pranks, whims,” literally, “piece,” from Middle High German stücke, Old High German stucki (German Stück ); cf. stucco

Words nearby shtick

shrunk, shrunken, sht., shtetl, shtg., shtick, shtoom, S-HTTP, shtup, shu, Shuar

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use shtick in a sentence

Beyond the strongman shtick that motivates enthusiasm for Vladimir Putin and for movements like Fuentes’s, this is revealing.
The war against democracy finds allies in America First|Philip Bump|February 27, 2022|Washington Post
I would eventually run for and get elected to Congress, but I grew to find Limbaugh’s show to be little more than shtick.
Rush Limbaugh Leaves Behind a Conservative Movement No Longer Interested in Truth. That Alarms Me as a Conservative|Joe Walsh|February 17, 2021|Time
“Borat 2” can’t rely on this shtick, however, because the original movie made Borat too recognizable.
You should side with Borat’s victims, not mock them|Sonny Bunch|October 30, 2020|Washington Post
The film relies on a steady stream of gross gags and outdated shtick.
Juvenile Misogynist Seth MacFarlane Is Not Funny|Amy Zimmerman|June 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But the main thing was corner shtick, we called it, and in our gang, I was the undisputed champ at corner shtick.
Mel Brooks Is Always Funny and Often Wise in This 1975 Playboy Interview|Alex Belth|February 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Christie has “regular guy” down, too, but with him, he has it so far down that it risks becoming shtick.
Scott Walker Is the Perfect Republican Candidate for 2016 (on Paper)|David Freedlander|November 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Critics who are less bullish on The Crazy Ones bemoan all of this, protesting that the Robin Williams shtick is worn out.
‘The Michael J. Fox Show’ & Robin Williams’s ‘The Crazy Ones’ Are Fall’s Best New Sitcoms|Kevin Fallon|September 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
J-Fal and the Roots reprised their classroom-instruments shtick with Robin Thicke Thursday to sing his hit, ‘Blurred Lines.’
Brian Williams Does Marky Mark, NASA’s Scary Map & More Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|August 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Wid a shtick in me fist Oi'll take care of ony spalpeen fwhat'll stand up in front av me.
Si Klegg, Book 4 (of 6)|John McElroy
Do you mind that shtick—big enough to sarve as a respictable shillalah at Donnybrook Fair?
In the Pecos Country|Edward Sylvester Ellis (AKA Lieutenant R.H. Jayne)
Why, if it kim to a foight, the bastes could run underneath, and shtick their spears through the flure.
The Rajah of Dah|George Manville Fenn
To wait a bit, and thin go round wid a thick shtick and bate all their heads.
The Rajah of Dah|George Manville Fenn
He handed the cob to the waiter, and asked, "Will you plaze put some more beans on my shtick?"
Science in the Kitchen.|Mrs. E. E. Kellogg

British Dictionary definitions for shtick

shtick

schtick

/ (ʃtɪk) /

noun

slang a comedian's routine; act; piece

Word Origin for shtick

C20: from Yiddish shtik piece, from Middle High German stücke

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012