witticism
/ˈwɪtɪsɪz(ə)m
/noun
A witty remark: Maurice roared with laughter at his own witticisms...
- The acerbic Australian, equally at home dissecting serious cultural issues and Japanese endurance game shows, will be reading from his new collection of essays and dispensing bons mots, acid witticisms and Antipodean insights.
- He would start with off-the-cuff remarks and witticisms and gradually improvise a setting in which they could shine.
- This book is full of aphorisms, bon mots and witticisms, nearly all to do with the absurdity of the world in which we live.
Synonyms
joke, quip, witty remark, flash of wit, jest, pun, play on words, double entendre, sally, riposte, pleasantry;
epigram;
(witticisms) repartee, banter, badinage;
French bon mot
informal one-liner, gag, funny, crack, wisecrack, comeback
rare paronomasia, equivoque, Atticism
Origin
1677: coined by Dryden from witty, on the pattern of criticism.