kibitz
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Yiddish קיבעצן (kibetsn), cognate to German kiebitzen (“to look on”), from German Kiebitz (“lapwing”), from Middle High German gibiz (“plover”), imitative of its cry.
Pronunciation
editVerb
editkibitz (third-person singular simple present kibitzes, present participle kibitzing, simple past and past participle kibitzed)
- (intransitive) To make small talk or idle chatter.
- Synonyms: chat, gossip
- Louise and I used to head down to the coffee shop and just sit for hours and kibitz.
- 2004, Gerald W. Esch, Parasites, People, and Places: Essays on Field Parasitology, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN:
- His wife Karen listened as John and I kibitzed about our experiences at the University of Oklahoma some 40 years ago.
- 2004, David Daniel, Goofy Foot: An Alex Rasmussen Mystery, Minotaur Books, →ISBN:
- Okay, we kibitzed enough. What brings you?
- 2018 December 10, Eric Johnson, “Full Q&A: Y Combinator’s Sam Altman and Recode’s Kara Swisher discuss tech ethics, addiction and Facebook”, in recode[1]:
- So how it’s gonna go is we’re gonna talk for about 45 minutes. We’re just gonna kibbitz here; that’s Yiddish for just kinda like […]
- (intransitive) To give unsolicited or unwanted advice or make unhelpful or idle comments, especially to someone playing a game.
- Quit kibitzing! You're giving away my hand!
- (intransitive, transitive) To watch a card or board game.
- 2002, Elisabeth Merrett, Storied Landscapes: A Journey, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 103:
- […] stayed in the dorm, although she lived in Brooklyn Heights, and I frequently spent long hours with her, either in her room or at the student lounge, where we drank coffee and smoked cigarettes and kibitzed the never-ending bridge game.
- 2012, Nona Baldwin Brown, Through the Opening Door: My Pioneering Journey in Mainstream Journalism, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 37:
- When it was my turn to stay in the office until 11 pm. closing, I kibitzed on their poker games and heard some colorful tales.
Derived terms
editTranslations
editchit-chat
give unwanted advice
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See also
editCategories:
- English terms borrowed from Yiddish
- English terms derived from Yiddish
- English terms derived from German
- English terms derived from Middle High German
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English transitive verbs