Meaning & use
spiel
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Meanings
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
A fluent, well-practiced speech meant to persuade people or to sell something.
Grammar: Usually singular with an or the: give a spiel, deliver his spiel.
Patterns
- a spiel about something
- give someone a spiel
The salesman launched into his usual spiel about the vacuum cleaner.
I heard the whole spiel about the gym's special offer before I could leave.
She had her sales spiel ready before the customer even sat down.
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformal
To recite or talk in a smooth, rehearsed way, often at length.
Grammar: Often used with off: spiel off a list of facts.
Patterns
- spiel off something
- spiel on about something
The guide spieled off the dates without taking a breath.
He spieled on about his startup for twenty minutes.
Word forms
| plural | spiels |
|---|---|
| third person singular | spiels |
| past tense | spieled |
| past participle | spieled |
| -ing form | spieling |
Common combinations
- sales spiel
- His sales spiel was smooth, but I still said no.
- give a spiel
- The waiter gave his spiel about the specials.
- the usual spiel
- He gave me the usual spiel about how busy he was.
- launch into a spiel
- As soon as I walked in, she launched into a spiel.
- rehearsed spiel
- It sounded like a rehearsed spiel rather than real advice.
Synonyms and how they differ
- patter
- Patter is fast, fluent talk used by performers or sellers, and it can sound more entertaining than spiel.
- pitch
- A pitch is a specific attempt to sell or persuade, while spiel focuses on the speech itself and may sound tired.
- sales talk
- Sales talk is a plain, neutral phrase, but spiel adds a hint that the speech is routine or insincere.
- line
- A line is a clever thing said to impress, often briefly, whereas a spiel is longer and more repeated.
Word family
- spieler noun
- a person who delivers a spiel, such as a barker at a fair
- spieling noun
- the act of delivering a spiel
Commonly confused: spiel or speech?
spiel vs speech
Speech is a neutral word for any talk given to an audience. A spiel is usually informal and rehearsed, with a hint that it is a sales trick.
Practice
The tour guide gave the same ___ at every stop, and we could recite it by the end.
Choose one answer.
A spiel is a rehearsed, repeated speech. Spell, spill and splash are real words but they do not describe a talk.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spiel”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.