Schtick
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A Schtick or shtick is a Yiddish expression which refers to a comic theme.
The term is best explained by giving examples:
Famous Comedians and Their Schticks
- Jack Benny's character on his radio program was notoriously both stingy and a bad violin player. In real life, Benny was known as an expert violinist and lavish tipper.
- The Blues Brothers, the dark-suited alter egos of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, began as a schtick and grew into a record and two movies.
- Johnny Carson's schticks include his role as "Carnac the Magnificent," an Indian fortune teller who could give divine answers to questions sealed in envelopes and kept in a mayonnaise jar on the front porch of Funk & Wagnalls since earlier that afternoon.
- Andrew Dice Clay's schtick in his comedy routines is his crude, misogynist themed humor.
- Rodney Dangerfield's schtick is centered around his famous catchphrase, "I don't get no respect."
- Jerry Lewis's schtick was to act like a schlemiel, but in real life (for example as the host of the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association telethons) he is generally regarded as a mensch.
See also: gimmick