wit

n.

1. Clever humor

   humor, wittiness, smartness, whimsicality, jocularity, pleasantry, drollery, waggery, banter, burlesque; see also humor 1.

2. An example of wit, sense 1

   satire, irony, badinage, witticism, sally, whimsy, repartee, bon mot, joke, aphorism, jest, quip, epigram, pun, wisecrack*, gag*. *

3. One who possesses wit, sense 1

   humorist, punster, epigrammatist, comedian, banterer, clever fellow, life of the party, wag, wisecracker*, wise guy*.

wit refers to the ability to perceive the incongruous and to express it in quick, sharp, spontaneous, often sarcastic remarks that delight or entertain; humor is applied to the ability to perceive and express that which is comical, ludicrous, or ridiculous, but connotes kindliness, geniality, sometimes even pathos, in the expression and a reaction of sympathetic amusement from the audience; irony refers to the humor implicit in the contradiction between literal expression and intended meaning or in the discrepancy between appearance and reality in life; satire applies to the use, especially in literature, of ridicule, sarcasm, irony, etc. in exposing and attacking vices or follies; repartee refers to the ability to reply or retort with quick, skillful wit or humor

at one's wits' end

have<strong> or </strong>keep one's wits about one

live by one's wits