Noun
wit.
(law) Abbreviation of witness.
You have a ready wit. Tell me when it's ready. Henny Youngman
There's a hell of a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words. Dorothy Parker
Men have begun to observe and classify, they turn from creation to Criticism... It is the Fashion to be a wit... one must be able to conceal indecency with elegant diction; manners are everything, morals nothing. James Branch Cabell
Digression is the soul of wit. Take the philosophic asides away from Dante, Milton or Hamlet's father's ghost and what stays is dry bones. Ray Bradbury
A pun is not bound by the laws which limit nicer wit. It is a pistol let off at the ear; not a feather to tickle the intellect. Charles Lamb
Writing, madam, is a mechanic part of wit. A gentleman should never go beyond a song or a billet. George Etherege