This is the 12451st most frequent German word.
vorspeise
Starter or appetizer.
Here, 'Vorspeise' is used in its primary meaning, referring to a culinary starter or appetizer before the main course.
Als Vorspeise hatten wir eine Tomatensuppe.
As a starter, we had tomato soup.
In this context, 'Vorspeise' is metaphorically used to describe the initial or preparatory phase of an event, in this case, a conversation.
Die Vorspeise des Gesprächs war überraschend höflich.
The introductory phase of the conversation was surprisingly polite.
This sentence uses 'Vorspeise' in its standard culinary sense, emphasizing the choice of skipping the appetizer.