spruik

/spɹuːk/

spruik means to promote a thing or idea to another person, usually informally. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 90 out of 100.

spruik is pronounced /spɹuːk/.

Etymology

Unknown, likely Germanic. Compare Dutch spraak (“speech”), spreek (“speak”), spreuk (“saying”), sprook (“a story, fiction, tale, or false idea”). First recorded in the late 1890s and early 1900s, suggesting a possible derivation from Afrikaans (i.e. brought back by soldiers returning from the Boer War). With the exception of a few early uses of sprook, the word's spelling has been fixed since it first entered the language. The uncommon ⟨ui⟩ digraph provides further evidence for an Afrikaans or Dutch origin.

verb

To promote a thing or idea to another person, usually informally.“There was no spruiking or showmanship, no flash shirts or ten-gallon hats.”