witticism

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: wit=ti=cism

CIDE DICTIONARY

witticism, n. [From Witty.].

 A witty saying; a sentence or phrase which is affectedly witty; an attempt at wit; a conceit.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]
"He is full of conceptions, points of epigram, and witticisms; all which are below the dignity of heroic verse."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

witticism, n. a witty remark.

Etymology

coined by Dryden (1677) f. WITTY, after criticism

DEVIL DICTIONARY

witticism

n. A sharp and clever remark, usually quoted, and seldom noted; what the Philistine is pleased to call a "joke."

THESAURUS

witticism

adage, ana, analects, aphorism, apothegm, axiom, bon mot, boutade, bright idea, bright thought, brilliant idea, byword, catchword, collected sayings, conceit, crack, current saying, dictate, dictum, distich, drollery, epigram, expression, facetiae, flash of wit, flight of wit, gag, gibe, gnome, golden saying, happy thought, jape, jest, maxim, moral, mot, motto, nasty crack, oracle, persiflage, phrase, pithy saying, play of wit, pleasantry, precept, prescript, proverb, proverbial saying, proverbs, quip, quips and cranks, repartee, retort, riposte, sally, saw, saying, scintillation, sentence, sententious expression, sloka, smart crack, smart saying, snappy comeback, stock saying, stroke of wit, sutra, teaching, text, turn of thought, verse, waggery, wisdom, wisdom literature, wise saying, wisecrack, word, words of wisdom, yak

ROGET THESAURUS

witticism

Wit

N wit, humor, wittiness, sense of humor, attic wit, attic salt, atticism, salt, esprit, point, fancy, whim, drollery, pleasantry, farce, buffoonery, fooling, tomfoolery, shenanigan, harlequinade, broad farce, broad humor, fun, espieglerie, vis comica, jocularity, jocosity, jocoseness, facetiousness, waggery, waggishness, whimsicality, comicality, banter, badinage, retort, repartee, smartness, ready wit, quid- pro-quo, ridicule, jest, joke, jape, jibe, facetiae, levity, quips and cranks, capital joke, canorae nugae, standing jest, standing joke, private joke, conceit, quip, quirk, crank, quiddity, concetto, plaisanterie, brilliant idea, merry thought, bright thought, happy thought, sally, flash of wit, flash of merriment, scintillation, mot, mot pour rire, witticism, smart saying, bon-mot, jeu d'esprit, epigram, jest book, dry joke, quodlibet, cream of the jest, word-play, jeu de mots, play of words, play upon words, pun, punning, double entente, double entendre, quibble, verbal quibble, conundrum, anagram, acrostic, double acrostic, trifling, idle conceit, turlupinade, old joke, tired joke, flat joke, Joe Miller, witty, attic, quick-witted, nimble-witted, smart, jocular, jocose, humorous, facetious, waggish, whimsical, kidding, joking, puckish, playful, merry and wise, pleasant, sprightly, light, spirituel, sparkling, epigrammatic, full of point, ben trovato, comic, zany, madcap, funny, amusing, jokingly, in joke, in jest, in sport, in play, adhibenda est in jocando moderatio, gentle dullness ever loves a joke, leave this keen encounter of our wits, just joking, just kidding, surely you jest!.