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Most of us have these little things we are able to do, that are a little different or special. Maybe it is something we mostly use in laid-back social situations, to break the ice and get a laugh. Beyond that, however, this talent does not do much for us. It is clearly not anything we would ever list on a resume. What might you call it?

Intended use:

Mike's family knew he was finally recovering from his injuries when he resumed his _______ of turning everything into a corny pun, which made his nurses laugh.

Another possible use:

Alice: (sticking out tongue and touching it to tip of nose) Tada!

Bob: Wow. Impressive.

Alice: Thanks, but I know that with this _______ and a dollar I can get a cup of coffee.

Candidates considered:

Hobby: On the contrary, your hobby can be of tremendous benefit to you. It is fun for you, releives your stress, and lets you have a sense of accomplishment. (reject)

Antic(s): For me, this has too much of a connotation that you only do the thing to create havoc or to tease another person. (near-miss)

Trick: In the absence of other options, this is what I might go with. However, this still doesn't quite sound right when I read it back. (debatable near-miss).

Despite this, feel free to propose any of these as answers if you can cite definitions and usage examples that refute my objections.

Final word: This is tagged with both and . All things being equal, a single word will win. However, where a short multi-word phrase tells the story better than one word, then so be it.

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cobaltduck
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13 Answers13

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I'm not sure it matches your first example, but I feel it matches your description and second example, I'd suggest party trick.

Oxford Dictionaries describes it as

A trick such as might be performed at a party for entertainment; an unusual act regarded as one's speciality.

Tom Bowen
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  • Or party piece**, which is significantly more common – FumbleFingers Mar 09 '16 at 14:22
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    Being from the UK and a child of the 90's "trick" is more common to me than "piece", but "piece" certainly fits. – Tom Bowen Mar 09 '16 at 14:28
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    Hey... I'm a (UK) child of the 60s, and I'll support your support for 'party trick' as an informal thing that works as a signature. – Captain Cranium Mar 09 '16 at 14:36
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    @FumbleFingers... The term 'party piece' tends to mean something practised and relatively formal, e.g. being able to whistle 'The Star Spangled Banner' while somersaulting backwards through a hoop. A 'party trick' is more like dislocating both shoulders and climbing into a washing machine. – Captain Cranium Mar 09 '16 at 14:39
  • I think that apparent recent upsurge for *trick* is just an artefact of the small sample size in the British English (2009) corpus. It's not there in the broader British English I linked to, nor in English (2009), English Fiction (2009) or English Fiction (2009). But they're both perfectly idiomatic BrE usages, almost completely interchangeable, and much more common in BrE than AmE. – FumbleFingers Mar 09 '16 at 14:48
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    @FumbleFingers No. These two usages are different. – Captain Cranium Mar 09 '16 at 14:57
  • @Captain Cranium: I did say almost completely interchangeable. Though I must say I expect most speakers tend to just use the version they're most familiar with, rather than consciously applying the distinction you make (which strikes me as being based on your post-hoc reasoning, rather than knowledge of a broad range of actual usages in context). – FumbleFingers Mar 09 '16 at 15:05
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    @FumbleFingers You are using the word 'party' to confuse two things. Your graph shows the increasing availability of both expressions over time. That does not help the OP.

    A party piece (e.g. a recital of music or poetry, or a bit of ice-sculpting or wardrobe-climbing) is selected to impress family, patrons, sponsors, etc..

    A party trick, on the other hand, is a weird thing that you can do. This is what the OP is asking about.

    Casual access to irrelevant online stats has nothing to do with real usage. If you can do that with your eyes shut, however, then that would count as a party trick.

     – Captain Cranium Mar 09 '16 at 15:44
  • @Captain Cranium: To repeat - that's just your opinion. You're unlikely to find any reference sources to substantiate your position. I'm sure I've used (and heard) both versions many times every year for decades. As it happens, I'm more likely to use *trick* in extremely figurative condemnatory contexts (He did his usual party trick of getting drunk and disgracing himself), but overall I'm pretty sure I use piece more often. Casual access to online stats doesn't "prove" much, I admit. But neither do unverifiable claims that there are "correct" and "incorrect" contextual usages. – FumbleFingers Mar 09 '16 at 16:00
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    No, thank you. I got no further use for this guy, and I have tried to protect the OP from his or her insistence on pushing an unfounded opinion and an argumentative style of deploying arbitrary 'evidence' that SE quite correctly resists. This person is actively obstructing the OP's question, in order to make a personal stand. That is OK, however: JS Mill clearly shows how angry people being wrong hand calm people the chance to think carefully about why we think what we think. In that spirit, let's also help Flumbs to be calm about productive discussion. – Captain Cranium Mar 09 '16 at 20:54
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    Just to add a little more sourcing to @CaptainCranium’s position, the full OED (subscription-only, unfortunately) agrees that party piece and party trick are related but not the same: Party trick n. a trick such as might be performed at a party for entertainment; an unusual act regarded as one's speciality; cf. party piece n. // Party piece n. a piece of music or other act performed by a person on a special occasion; an unusual trick, feat, etc., for which one is renowned; cf. party trick n. – PLL Mar 12 '16 at 14:23
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    Or parlor trick. – Faheem Mitha Mar 13 '16 at 22:38
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    "Parlor trick" is often prefixed with "cheap" and in that case has a negative connotation of being patently deceptive as part of a con job. You might also describe what OP is asking for as a bar trick. (Maybe they have "pub trick" on the other side of the Atlantic?) – Ionoclast Brigham Mar 14 '16 at 03:52
  • Being from the US and a child of the '80s, I'd go for party trick or parlor trick. Since parlor is a bit of an old-fashioned term, that would make it slightly more lame (like Alice's example), whereas a party trick might be kind of cool, but not that cool, and a parlor trick I feel like people will get bored with it, it might be amusing one time, and eventually annoying when repeated over and over again, and may induce eye rolls among those familiar with the subject's enjoyment of performing said trick. – Tim Jan 07 '22 at 04:11
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Perhaps an English term borrowed from Yiddish, schtick (or shtick, or shtik)

A characteristic attribute, talent, or trait that is helpful in securing recognition or attention: waiters in tropical attire are part of the restaurant's shtick.

American Heritage Dictionary

The term is often applied to a comedian's signature style or routine.

bib
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    I have never heard this used in the UK. – Ian Mar 09 '16 at 17:42
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    @Ian Depends where you live and who you mix with. I've heard it plenty of times – Avrohom Yisroel Mar 09 '16 at 18:07
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    As @CaptainCranium suggests in his answer, the term schtick "generally connotes something like a trademark behaviour that pretty much anyone could reproduce... but they would just look like cheap imitators." – gfullam Mar 09 '16 at 18:24
  • I'd just use behavior. – user116032 Mar 09 '16 at 19:43
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    IMO, while valid, I think it is reasonable to wonder if the idiom would be equally accessible in other forms of english. I seriously doubt that in english speaking countries with no jewish culture prevalence this word is even known. – Joum Mar 10 '16 at 17:20
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    @Joum While I cannot speak to its use in other countries, the term has wide acceptance in the US, even in locales with limited numbers of people of Jewish background. – bib Mar 10 '16 at 17:36
  • @bib but that resonates with jewish culture prevalence in the US as a whole, not just in some locales. For instance, should you go to Kenya, I doubt any kenyan would recognise the word. But it's valid, I just think the scope isn't that wide, and since it is, as you put it correctly, a borrowed word, it may not be the most adequate solution. Good job, though! :) – Joum Mar 10 '16 at 17:45
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    I'd agree with others that this is probably the wrong answer if you're talking to an international audience. I've never heard it before. – Simba Mar 11 '16 at 14:39
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    @Avrohom With a name like yours, I'd be shocked to find out you've never heard schtick. // OP, schtick is good, but rarely (if ever) has "useless" connotation. At the worse, it describes repetitive behaviour that is highly specific to a person and makes them stand out in some way. – A.S. Mar 12 '16 at 11:23
  • @A.S. Hee hee, kinda gives it away eh? – Avrohom Yisroel Mar 12 '16 at 19:36
  • @A.S. While I agree that schtick can be used neutrally, it often has a dismissive quality, and I have rarely heard it in a really positive tone. I agree it does not universally suggest useless, although it often suggests a shallow performance of little value – bib Mar 12 '16 at 20:52
  • I love "schtick", and it's a poor writer who doesn't occasionally extend his reader's vocabulary! But I think it means more than a "party trick". Which is my best suggestion. – Laurence Mar 13 '16 at 11:06
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What do you think about gimmick? Though not always something that you do, a gimmick has the connotation of being a feature which superficially attracts attention or but has no real or practical value.

gimmick (n)

a method or trick that is used to get people's attention or to sell something

jdbiochem
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Although not exactly something one might do (at least not always willingly), I think quirk fits your description:

a peculiarity of action, behavior, or personality; mannerism;

in dictionary.com

Joum
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I know there is already an accepted answer, but knack might fit.

Mike's family knew he was finally recovering from his injuries when he resumed his knack of turning everything into a corny pun, which made his nurses laugh.

In Alice's case, she would have a knack for performing odd physical feats.

m-w definition

dval
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    But suppose Bob has a knack for fixing bugs in computer programs. It could be highly beneficial to him. – Patricia Shanahan Mar 11 '16 at 03:08
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    This strikes me as the most neutral descriptor, in contrast to gift/aptitude (positive) or shtick/peculiarity/gimmick/routine (which can be interpreted as slightly negative i.e. 'played out') – max pleaner Mar 11 '16 at 22:38
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Referencing the movie Planet Terror, I would use "useless talent". Which seems also adopted by Reddit, but certainly not by any dictionary.

Puck
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As with many words, the tone used may be all that's needed to convey some sarcastic disrespect for that talent. I don't think there exists a single-word that implies a useless talent (and having the ability to make people laugh is never a wasted effort!).

The "Shtick" to me implies a routine for comedic effect - not neccessarily just a physical capacity.

So I'd probably just go with any of the synonyms for "talent"

gift

aptitude.

hmm.... how about: "peculiarity", implying an odd characteristic?

Michael Broughton
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My instinctive response (as explained in related comments) was party trick, meaning a fairly personal ability that others would find hard to replicate. Farting the alphabet, say, or reciting an obscure novel backwards.

(The term 'party piece', which some seem to think equivalent, refers to much more competitive acts to impress, related to reproducible repertoire.)

On the other hand, if the act in question is primarily one of memorable self-promotion then the term shtick can apply. That generally connotes something like a trademark behaviour that pretty much anyone could reproduce... but they would just look like cheap imitators. Examples would include Tommy Cooper's shrugging 'Juz like that', or Steve Martin's arrow through the head.

Captain Cranium
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    This seems to be a restatement of the other two preexisting answers. – stannius Mar 09 '16 at 16:32
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    @stannius Not at all. My post-in-progress was delayed by someone arguing about something from trivial opinion. Here, I offered a succinct comparison, with examples, of two complementary ideas bearing on OP's actual question, with a sidelight on a potential distraction. I am happy that others have also mentioned those ideas individually, and I would have retired my post entirely if I had thought that existing contributions had entirely overtaken this one. – Captain Cranium Mar 09 '16 at 18:11
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Though Party Trick or Party Piece fits the description well, they don't quite fit the examples completely naturally.

You could use 'routine' in the examples to great effect.

Routine - noun

6 - an individual act, performance, or part of a performance, as a song or dance, given regularly by an entertainer: a comic routine; a dance routine.

www.dictionary.com

Though the dictionary definition given above fairly strongly references an actual act or performance, the term is also very commonly used to imply a contrived action performed by someone as if it was an act or performance in the classic sense of the word. Something of a synonym for 'party trick' and 'schtick'.

E.g. Alice: Thanks, but I know that with this routine and a dollar I can get a cup of coffee

Marv Mills
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A word that sprang to my mind is specialty.

While this words is often used in serious contexts, such as medicine, mathematics, or cooking, it can also be used tongue-in-cheek to refer to such "talents" as you allude to:

Mike resumed his specialty of turning everything into a corny pun, which made his nurses laugh.

With this specialty and a dollar I can get a cup of coffee.

Those seem like fairly acceptable usages (especially the first one). As for other places where I've seen the word used in a similar fashion, I found some interesting quotes:

• My specialty is detached malevolence.

Alice Roosevelt Longworth, who also quipped: "If you can't say something good about someone, sit right here by me."

• My specialty is two things: music or really strange stories.

Malik Bendjelloul, filmmaker and director

• My specialty is sticking my heart in places that it doesn’t belong.

A blogger named Elly

• Practical jokes were his specialty. Even as a small child, he had delighted in trickery and as he grew up, the jokes became more sophisticated.

From the book Underground: Tales of Hacking, Madness and Obsession on the Electronic Frontier by S. Dreyfus and J. Assange

And of course, the classic last line of The Open Window by Saki:

• Romance at short notice was her specialty.

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J.R.
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Although such activities would seem to fit in Oxford Dictionary’s second definition of a “diversion":
“An activity that diverts the mind from tedious or serious concerns; a recreation or pastime: ‘our chief diversion was reading’,”

“diversion” would not, however, work well in either of your examples.
(on the other hand, although “habit” would “sound good” at least in your first example, it wouldn’t be fitting at all for the notion that you seek)

Working from the above sense #2 of “diversion,” however, I think “sideshow” could capture the general notion you seek and could work in both of your examples as well:

“Mike … resumed his sideshow of …”

“…with this sideshow and a dollar I can get a cup of coffee.”

sideshow
: a minor show offered in addition to a main exhibition (as of a circus [or resume?])
2 : an incidental diversion or spectacle
(from ‘Merriam-Webster)

(example of “sideshow” used as a “[impromptu] comedy routine” found in ‘Letters from My Sister: On Life, Love and Hair Removal’ by Eve Lederman, Faye Lederman at ‘Google Books’)

Papa Poule
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How about 'forté'?

This word implies that the talent is a natural skill, that it is fun for, and comes easily to, the protagonist, does not necessarily bring him anything, it's just something he likes to do - that it is a kind of habit, or something he 'falls into' - like a 'groove'.

Forté.

Some synonyms are also listed here - métier, strong suit, bent, gift, strength, specialty:

https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=meaning+forte&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-sg&client=safari

I would use 'forté' for your first example, and 'talent' or 'gift' for your second.

Jelila
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  • Why would having a forté be of little value? Why would "talent" be of little use? Normally, talents describe a special or a natural ability that others may find extremely difficult to do well. I don't think anyone is going to say the ability to touch their nose with the tip of their tongue is a "forte" or a "talent" of theirs. "Ironically" maybe, but that's switching the meanings in a humorous way, which you don't mention. – Mari-Lou A Feb 01 '18 at 12:56
  • Forté has a sense of meaning 'habit', which I think fits well. I said it 'does not necessarily bring him anything' not, that it is valueless. It would be difficult not to be ironic in either of the given examples. But maybe that's my forté... – Jelila Feb 01 '18 at 13:27
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Affectation -can mean an adopted way of speaking or behaving, implies an attitude deliberately assumed in order to impress others.

Example:

Bob's silly French accent is just an affectation.

maxTrialfire
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  • "Thanks, but I know that with this affectation and a dollar I can get a cup of coffee"? I don't think that fits into the example sentences in the question. – herisson Mar 11 '16 at 01:49