Spiel

WORD OF THE DAY

spiel / noun / SPEEL

Definition
1: to play music
2: to talk volubly or extravagantly
3: to utter, express, or describe volubly or extravagantly

Examples
“In the blue room, Third Man’s concert venue, [Bob] Weir and his band Wolf Bros preached between songs. The bassist, Don Was, who is also the head of the legendary jazz label Blue Note Records, gave a spiel about the glory of ‘authentic,’ Auto-Tune-free music.”
— Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 9 June 2022

George had spieled a third version of that boss blonde in the picture.
— James Ellroy, Vanities, 7 Oct. 2017

Did You Know?
Here’s our spiel on spiel: it’s well-known as a noun, and you may also be aware that spiel can be used as a verb meaning “to talk extravagantly,” but did you know that the verb can also mean “to play music”?
That, in fact, is the word’s original meaning, and one it shares with its German root, spielen. (Spiel is also found in glockenspiel, the name of a musical instrument similar to the xylophone.)
In Scottish English, spiel is also sometimes used as a shortened form of bonspiel, which refers to a match or tournament of the icy game of curling.