spiel
Pronunciations
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'
- Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
- Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)
- North America
- Great Britain
- South Africa
- Australia / New Zealand
- View More
- The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
Who Uses This
Regions
Dictionaries
Alternative Spellings
shpil, shpiel
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