witticism
Other forms: witticisms
Witticism describes something funny that someone says, like a pun or little joke. You may have heard that it is good to start off a speech with witticism because if you make the audience laugh, it'll help them — and you — relax.
English playwright and poet John Dryden coined the word witticism in the 17th century, combining the words witty and criticism to come up with a word to describe a clever quip that has a hint of sharpness or irony. A witticism is typically a one-liner that humorously sums up the current situation — with a little bit of attitude thrown in.
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a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughtertypes:jeu d'esprita witty comment or writingesprit de l'escaliera witty remark that occurs to you too latereparteeadroitness and cleverness in replycaricature, imitation, impersonationa representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effectribaldryribald humortopperan exceedingly good witticism that surpasses all that have gone beforemock-heroica satirical imitation of heroic versebelly laugh, howler, riot, scream, sidesplitter, thigh-slapper, wowa joke that seems extremely funnyethnic jokea joke at the expense of some ethnic groupfunny, funny remark, funny story, good storyan account of an amusing incident (usually with a punch line)in-jokea joke that is appreciated only by members of some particular group of peopleone-linera very short joke or funny remarkshaggy dog storya long rambling joke whose humor derives from its pointlessnesssick jokea joke in bad tastesight gag, visual jokea joke whose effect is achieved by visual means rather than by speech (as in a movie)burlesque, charade, lampoon, mockery, parody, pasquinade, put-on, sendup, spoof, takeoff, travestya composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody's style, usually in a humorous waycartoon strip, comic strip, funnies, stripa sequence of drawings telling a story in a newspaper or comic booktype of:
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Vocabulary lists containing witticism
Published in 1906, this novel helped expose the oppressive and unsafe labor conditions in Chicago's meatpacking industry.
When Edna Pontellier meets Robert Lebrun, she begins to question her roles as wife and mother. Set in New Orleans in the late 1800s, this pioneering novel is considered to be an early feminist classic. Read the full text here.