spruik

English

Alternative forms

• sprook (obsolete)

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spɹuːk/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -uːk

Verb

spruik (third-person singular simple present spruiks, present participle spruiking, simple past and past participle spruiked)

1. (transitive, Australia) To promote a thing or idea to another person, usually informally.
   • 1948, Louis Esson, Louis Esson and the Australian Theatre, page 18:

     There was no spruiking or showmanship, no flash shirts or ten-gallon hats.

   • 2008 December 30, “Lennon spruiks laptop 28 years after his death”, in The Sydney Morning Herald:

     Lennon spruiks laptop 28 years after his death [title]

   • 2011, Kylie Ofiu, “Work as a spruiker”, in 365 Ways to Make Money, page 120:

     It can be a hard job, constantly on your feet, trying to think of things to say to lure people into the store you are spruiking for.

   • 2022 March 27, Sarah Martin, “Scott Morrison spruiks cost of living package as expectations of fuel excise cut grow”, in The Guardian‎^[1], Guardian Media Group, retrieved 2022-03-27:

Synonyms

• (promote something to someone): pimp, pitch, tout, hawk

Derived terms

• spruiker

Translations

to promote a thing or idea

• Serbo-Croatian: uvaljivati (sh)

Anagrams

• prusik