shtick

shtick
    n 1: (Yiddish) a little; a piece; "give him a shtik cake"; "he's
         a shtik crazy"; "he played a shtik Beethoven" [syn:
         {shtik}, {shtick}, {schtik}, {schtick}]
    2: (Yiddish) a contrived and often used bit of business that a
       performer uses to steal attention; "play it straight with no
       shtik" [syn: {shtik}, {schtik}, {shtick}, {schtick}]
    3: (Yiddish) a prank or piece of clowning; "his shtik made us
       laugh" [syn: {shtik}, {schtik}, {shtick}, {schtick}]
    4: (Yiddish) a devious trick; a bit of cheating; "how did you
       ever fall for a shtik like that?" [syn: {shtik}, {schtik},
       {shtick}, {schtick}]
    

shtick \shtick\, shtik \shtik\(sht[i^]k), n. [Yiddish, pranks;
   fr. MHG st["u]cke, pieces.]
   1. A person's special talent, line of business, or habitual
      activity.
      [PJC]

   2. (Show business) A comic routine or a specific gag inserted
      in a show for laughs.
      [PJC]
    

29 Moby Thesaurus words for "shtick":
      act, afterpiece, bit, chaser, curtain, curtain call,
      curtain raiser, divertimento, divertissement, epilogue, exode,
      exodus, expository scene, finale, hoke act, interlude, intermezzo,
      intermission, introduction, number, prologue, routine, scene,
      sketch, skit, song and dance, stand-up comedy act, striptease,
      turn