Wit & Wordplay Vocabulary

quick, witty conversation or exchange

“Their repartee was legendary—each line sharper than the last.”

a quick, clever reply to an attack or insult

“When criticized for his youth, Kennedy delivered a perfect riposte.”

a witty remark or witticism

“Oscar Wilde was famous for his bon mots.”

a phrase with two meanings, one usually risqué

“His double entendre made some laugh and others blush.”

a sentence with an unexpected ending that reframes the beginning

“I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather—not screaming, like his passengers.”

mistaken use of a word for a similar-sounding one

“For all intensive purposes... (should be: intents and purposes)”

swapping initial sounds of words for comic effect

“You have hissed all my mystery lectures (missed all my history lectures).”

a play on words exploiting multiple meanings

“I used to be a banker, but I lost interest.”

delivering humor with an expressionless face

“His deadpan delivery made the absurd seem plausible.”

saying the opposite of what you mean for effect

“Oh, wonderful—another meeting. (When you hate meetings.)”