Word Confusion: Spiel versus Spill

Plural for the noun: spiels
Gerund: spieling

Third person present verb: spiels
Past tense or past participle: spieled
Present participle: spieling

Plural for the noun: spills
Gerund: spilling

Third person present verb: spills
Past tense or past participle: spilt, spilled
Present participle: spilling

A usually high-flown talk or speech, especially for the purpose of luring people to a movie, a sale, etc.

• Pitch
• Pitch your story idea
• Elevator pitch, etc.

Verb, intransitive:
Speak glibly or at length

To speak extravagantly

To deliver a prepared speech

To play music

Verb, transitive:
Reel off

• [Usually followed by off] Recite

To utter, express, or describe volubly or extravagantly

• An instance of a liquid spilling or being spilled

A quantity spilled

A fall from a horse, vehicle, bicycle, etc.

The mark made by something spilled

A spillway, i.e., a passageway through which surplus water escapes from a reservoir, lake, or the like

[spill light] Superfluous or useless light rays, as from theatrical or photographic lighting units

[Theater] An area of a stage illuminated by spill light

[Australian] A vacating of all or several posts in a cabinet or parliamentary party to allow reorganization after an important change of office

A thin strip of wood or paper used for lighting a fire, candle, pipe, etc. ²

Verb, intransitive:
[Of liquid, loose particles, etc.] Flow over the edge of its container, especially by accident or in careless handling ¹

• [With reference to the contents of something] Empty out or be emptied out onto a surface
• [Of a number of people] Move out of somewhere quickly

Verb, transitive:
Cause or allow (liquid) to flow over the edge of its container, especially unintentionally, accidentally, or wastefully ¹

• [With reference to the contents of something] Empty out or be emptied out onto a surface
• [Informal] Reveal confidential information to someone
  • To divulge, disclose, or tell
• Cause (someone) to fall off a horse or bicycle
• [Sailing] Let (wind) out of a sail, typically by slackening the sheets
• [Sailing] To lose (wind) from a sail
• [British; in the context of ball games] Drop the ball

The realtor stepped inside the door and began her spiel.

For the course of the game he pretty much serves no purpose greater than giving you a basic spiel on your next mission.

That didn’t surprise me, because he definitely hadn’t had time to breathe while delivering his spiel.

She wasn’t finished yet as she continued her spiel without taking a breath.

The team got in to a straight line, recognizing the beginning of her spiel.

Direct questions on financial issues are answered with opaque spiels on their version of moral principle.

Verb, intransitive:
Frickin’ barman spiels on the phone to his girlfriends instead of doing his job.

The great irony is, of course, with all this information — so much of it flotsam and jetsam — here am I, spieling.

Verb, transitive:
He solemnly spieled all he knew.

Standing in front of a projected screen that displayed the words “In front of them all,” he spieled out his military lingo with a Mid-Western accent, cycling through pictures and maps of wartime Korea.

He half listened as the local news reporters spieled off the latest information and traffic for the morning.

Early in the project, when asked by journalists, I simply spieled off theories of excarnation and an inverted underworld.

As they turned, their spill of lantern-light moved with them.

He was absolved from any blame for the oil spill.

He’s talking about a man who spilled his blood for the United States of America.

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig was the worst offshore oil spill in US history.

A spill of 210 gallons of crude oil requires reporting it to the government.

You can help prevent soda spills from ruining carpeting or rugs by promptly cleaning spills and choosing the correct cleaning solutions for your carpeting.

The spillway must be repaired today or the water will overflow and damage the dam.

With her blinds broken, the spill light from the streetlight is keeping her awake.

Adjust those shutters and control that spill light.

The political machinations in Canberra inspired people everywhere to react to a leadership spill.

In front of us stood a low oaken table on which there was more mead and wine, and, appropriately for the room, a collection of long clay pipes, loose tobacco and spills.

Verb, intransitive:
Some of the wine spilled onto the floor.

Light spilled into the room from the landing.

The passengers’ baggage had spilled out of the hold.

Students began to spill out of the building.

Verb, transitive:
You’ll spill that coffee if you’re not careful.

Azaleas spilled cascades of flowers over the pathways.

Injured cells tend to swell up and burst, spilling their contents.

He was reluctant to spill her address.

The horse was wrenched off course, spilling his rider.

With his constant guidance and criticism, they do their best to fashion sails that are strong yet can spill the wind quickly.

Toby brought the dinghy under the cruiser’s stern, spilling the wind as he did so.

Five minutes later a great tackle from John Cookson resulted in a Blackpool player spilling the ball.

The soldier was arrested and court-martialed for spilling blood in the village near the military encampment

He spilled the entire bag of marbles.

He slipped on the wet grass and spilled papers everywhere!

1894 (verb) meaning to speak in a glib manner — earlier it meant to play circus music and evolved in 1896 to glib speech, pitch.

Late 19th century, the noun comes, perhaps, from the German Spiel meaning a game, play.

1. Old English spillan meaning kill, destroy, waste, shed (blood) is of unknown origin.
2. Middle English in the sense of sharp fragment of wood. It’s obscurely related to spile.

   The current sense dates from the early 19th century.