borscht belt

noun

variants or less commonly borsch belt

Examples of borscht belt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Like the borscht belt ruin, its decay had become its allure. Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2023 His mother was Ed Sullivan’s secretary, and his grandfather, a Bell Telephone engineer who in his off hours was a vaudeville dancer, introduced him to borscht belt comedy. Rob Tannenbaum, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023 Bill grew up in the borscht belt of the Catskills, in Liberty, New York, and worked at his family’s Chinese restaurant. Kat Chow, Bon Appétit, 11 Nov. 2022 His new manager, Jyll Rosenfeld, convinced that the old borscht belt comics were ripe for a comeback, encouraged him to bring his act to the theater as a one-man show. William Grimes New York Times, Star Tribune, 24 July 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of borscht belt was in 1937

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Cite this Entry

“Borscht belt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/borscht%20belt. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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