Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
shtick or shtik [shtik] ExamplesWord Origin 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.
Origin of shtick 1955–60; Yiddish shtik pranks, whims, literally, piece Middle High German stücke, Old High German stucki (German Stück); cf. stucco Examples from the Web for shtick Contemporary Examples of shtick
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
He’ll talk up his Senate ambitions for awhile, bask in the political limelight, and then stick with his current shtick.
Senator Geraldo Rivera? Seems Unlikely the Fox News Pundit Will Run
Howard Kurtz
February 2, 2013
And the dupes are the folks who bought into the shtick, carrying signs at Tea Party rallies that read “Glenn Beck is my hero.”
Glenn Beck Attempts a Laughable Makeover as a Libertarian
John Avlon
January 12, 2013
One reason younger audiences have not yet embraced the videos may be that the shtick feels stale.
Yo, Yo, Yo, It’s Chanukah: Hip-Hop Lights the Menorah
Eli Lake
December 7, 2012
She generated howls of laughter as she launched into her “do the math” shtick about the “hair and makeup” handicap.
Former Wall Street Executive Sallie Krawcheck Critiques Financial Reform Policy
Allan Dodds Frank
October 16, 2012
Historical Examples of shtick
Thin will ye tell me, Mrs. Ryan, why didn’t they shtick till it?
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, January 26, 1916
Various
He never said a word but to take the shtick and fire me dead with it on the sthrand.
Various
It was “the shtick” which kept things together so far as they were kept so at all.
Bernard H. Becker
Divil a shtick but me door-key, an’ that they tuk home an’ lift in the door.
Arthur Morrison
He handed the cob to the waiter, and asked, “Will you plaze put some more beans on my shtick?”
Mrs. E. E. Kellogg
British Dictionary definitions for shtick shtick schtick noun
- slang a comedian’s routine; act; piece
Word Origin for shtick C20: from Yiddish shtik piece, from Middle High German stücke Word Origin and History for shtick n.
also schtick, 1959, from Yiddish shtik “an act, gimmick,” literally “a piece, slice,” from Middle High German stücke “piece, play,” from Old High German stucki (see stock (n.1)).