shtik

•shtik: Yiddish a devious trick; a bit of cheating; "how did you ever fall for a shtik like that?"

Thanks, Spiegel Catalog 2007

•shtik: Yiddish a contrived and often used bit of business that a performer uses to steal attention; "play it straight with no shtik"

Thanks, Spiegel Catalog 2007

Michael Feinstein makes me uncomfortable because he does all the same shtik I do, only on a grander scale and much much more polished -- but I love Dame Edna.

All About Me deliasherman 2010

Being the shocking granny has become part of her shtik.

Can We Talk? 2010

There are dance routines, a musical number about commodity prices, a sketch involving light sabers, and plenty of other shtik: the board of directors are costumed as three blind mice, and actors with dinosaur heads eat debt fed to them by chief financial officer Andrew Fastow.

Enron on Broadway: $how Business 2010

At first, this sounds like shtik; politicians love to claim they're above the fray.

Responsible Rider 2010

You've seen clips of President Obama speaking at those Washington Press dinners, doing shtik.

Stanton Peele: If Obama Were Funnier, He'd Be a Lousy President 2009

He's a much debater than Clinton; doesn't have her mannerisms and looks "optimistic" as opposed to her "fighting" shtik.

Obama Camp To Hillary: Not So Fast With That Coronation 2009

President Obama has pushed his bipartisan shtik about as far as it will go, and if Republican recalcitrance means the Democrats have to go it alone on health care, Obama should embrace the new reality and cry all the way to the signing ceremony.

Time to Get in the Ring 2009

But Obama's focus on reconciliation is clearly more than shtik.

Getting to Know Obama 2009