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Look up Wit in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wit is a form of intellectual humor. A wit is someone skilled in making witty remarks, typically in conversation and spontaneously. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Look up Humour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Contents

Famous wits

John Wilkes was famous in the 18th Century for his wit in response to insults. Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde, Dorothy Parker and Groucho Marx are considered archetypal 19th and 20th century wits — sometimes even having the remarks of others attributed to them. Also of the twentieth century was British prime minister Winston Churchill, with perhaps the most well documented witticisms of his time. Oliver St John Gogarty was a renowned Dublin wit and surgeon, while John Philpot Curran was an Irish lawyer who would disrupt court hearings with his witticisms. Ksawery Tartakower is usually described as chess grandmaster and wit. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the lead section of this article may need to be expanded. ... Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, short story writer and Freemason. ... Dorothy Parker (August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American writer and poet, best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles. ... Julius Henry Marx, known as Groucho Marx (October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977), was an American comedian, working both with his siblings, the Marx Brothers, and on his own. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was an English statesman and author, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... Oliver St John Gogarty (August 17, 1878-September 22, 1957) was an Irish physician and surgeon, who was also a poet and writer, one of the most prominent Dublin wits, and for some time a political figure of the Irish Free State. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... Surgeon may refer to: a practitioner of surgery the moniker of British electronic music producer and DJ, Anthony Child; see Surgeon (musician) This is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with the same title. ... John Philpot Curran (1750-1817) was an Irish orator and wit, born in County Cork. ... Ksawery Tartakower (generally known as Saviely or Savielly in English, from Polish Sawielly meaning little Saul, less often Xavier Tartacover or Xavier Tartakover; 1887–1956) was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. ... The title International Grandmaster is awarded to superb chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. It is a lifetime title, in chess literature usually abbreviated as GM or IGM (this is in contrast to WGM for Woman Grandmaster and IM for International Master). ...


Forms of wit

As in the wit of Parker's set, the Algonquin Round Table, witty remarks may be intentionally cruel (as in many epigrams), and perhaps more ingenious than funny. The Algonquin Round Table was a group of New York City writers, critics, actors and wits that met from 1919 until about 1929, though its legacy endured long afterward. ... It has been suggested that poetic epigram be merged into this article or section. ...


A quip is an observation or saying that has some wit but perhaps descends into sarcasm, or otherwise is short of point; a witticism also suggests the diminutive. Repartee is the wit of the quick answer and capping comment: the snappy comeback and neat retort. (Wilde: "I wish I'd said that." Whistler: "You will, Oscar, you will".) Sarcasm is sneering, jesting, or mocking a person, situation or thing. ... Self portrait James Abbott McNeill Whistler (July 14, 1834 – July 17, 1903) was an American-born, British-based painter and etcher. ...


In French one can distinguish between the bon mot, a witty remark actually produced, and the esprit d'escalier, the thing one should have said that comes to mind only on the way down from the apartment. This page lists English translations of several French phrases used in English texts and presumed to be understood by the English reader. ... Esprit dEscalier; The Way Of All Flesh, 2005 Debut release from gothic rock band The Way Of All Flesh. ...


Wit defined

In his dictionary, Samuel Johnson states that the original meaning of wit is "the powers of the mind; the mental faculties; the intellects"; he also defines wit as "quickness of fancy", among the nine definitions. In Webster's Dictionary, wit is defined as "the association of ideas in a manner natural, but unusual and striking, so as to produce surprise joined with pleasure". A dictionary is a list of words with their definitions, a list of characters with their glyphs, or a list of words with corresponding words in other languages. ... For other persons named Samuel Johnson, see Samuel Johnson (disambiguation). ... 1888 advertisement for Websters Dictionary Websters Dictionary is the common title given to English language dictionaries in the United States, derived from American lexicographer Noah Webster. ...


An episode of television series The Simpsons defined wit, in Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield as "nothing more than an incisive observation, humorously phrased and delivered with impeccable timing." An animated series or cartoon series is a television series produced by means of animation. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season, first aired on February 4, 1996. ...


Shakespeare's Polonius said, "Brevity is the soul of wit." Shakespeare redirects here. ... Polonius is a character from William Shakespeares Hamlet. ...


Wit in poetry

Wit in poetry is characteristic of metaphysical poetry as a style, and was prevalent in the time of English playwright Shakespeare, who admonished pretension with the phrase "Better a witty fool than a foolish wit". It may combine word play with conceptual thinking, as a kind of verbal display requiring attention, without intending to be laugh-aloud funny; in fact wit can be a thin disguise for more poignant feelings that are being versified. English poet John Donne is the representative of this style of poetry. The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... The Metaphysical poets were a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century, who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and a common way of investigating them. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Word play is a literary technique in which the nature of the words used themselves become part of the subject of the work. ... John Donne (pronounced Dun; 1572 – March 31, 1631) was a Jacobean poet and preacher, representative of the metaphysical poets of the period. ...


Further meanings

More generally, one's wits are one's intellectual powers of all types. Native wit — meaning the wits with which one is born — is closely synonymous with common sense. To live by one's wits is to be an opportunist, not always of the scrupulous kind. To have one's wits about one is to be alert and capable of quick reasoning. Look up Common sense in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Opportunism is a term mainly used in politics and political science. ... Reasoning is the act of using reason to derive a conclusion from certain premises. ...


Another possible definition of wit, or humor, loosely attributable to Freud, is "anger, turned sideways".


Trivia

  • In Robin Hobb's books, the Wit is a magic that allows someone to communicate and bond with certain wild animals
  • In Dan Bron's humor, Wit is usually attributed to FFers or 'the ween'.
  • Wit can also be an abbreviated form of the word "with", for SMS/MMS/Chat conversations

At the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005 Robin Hobb is the pen name of Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden (born 1952 in California). ... The Sorceress by John William Waterhouse Magic and sorcery are the influencing of events, objects, people and physical phenomena by mystical or paranormal means. ... FF is an abbreviation for: Fast forward, a way of maneuvering a cassette tape or other linear media Form Feed, a control character in the C0 control code set used in ASCII. Folios following - an archaic way of saying and the following pages (used in indexes) The US Navy Hull...

See also

The term New Oxford Wits was applied, around 1980, to a group of young British writers who had been at the University of Oxford in the 1970s. ... The Hartford Wits (also called the Connecticut Wits) were a group of American writers centered around Yale University and flourished in the 1780s and 1790s. ... 1999 Faber and Faber edition of the play. ... Margaret Edson (b. ...

Bibliography

  • D. W. Jefferson, "Tristram Shandy and the Tradition of Learned Wit" in Essays in Criticism, 1(1951), 225-48

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