Steve, for the benefit of the guys who have no idea who Barbara Striesand is, (man am I getting old), "Spiel" in german means "play", and is a verb. (ie, "Play ball", play cards, etc.) A "schpiel", in Yiddish, means more like a "play" as what you would see on stage. A "big schpiel" is a long-winded explanation of something that could have been explained with a lot less detail. It can also be used as a verb, like when you're playing cards with someone who is taking forever to make up his mind.
I guess it helps being an MOT.
