spiel

Pronunciations

spiel	(SPEEL)
Schpiel	(SHPEEL)

Definitions

• n. Play, performance, speech.
  

• n. "A long, involved story or tale" (JPS); a long, drawn-out explanation or introduction.
  

Example Sentences

• "She gave a whole shpiel about why we should donate money to the shul."
  

• "In this year's Purim shpiel, the rabbi of the shul acted as the President, making fun of him by making him seem like Achashveirosh."
  

Languages of Origin

• Yiddish
• German

Etymology

• Yiddish שפּיל shpil, German spiel 'game, performance, play'
  

Who Uses This

• Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
• Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

Regions

• North America

Dictionaries

• The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

Alternative Spellings

shpil, shpiel