spit take
n.— «Nor does he think the public can muster a chuckle for “Danny Thomas doing spit takes. We’re too jaded now.”» —“Success of two new comedies depends on Hanks” by Joan E. Vadeboncoeur Syracuse Herald-Journal (New York) July 18, 1985. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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A young caller from the Hudson Valley of New York wonders about his grandmother’s use of stemwinder to praise a speech she thought was excellent. In the early 1800s, people used pocket watches that had to be wound with a tiny key. Once someone...