WORD OF THE DAY
Witticism describes something funny that someone says, like a pun or little joke. You may have heard that it is good to start off a speech with witticism because if you make the audience laugh, it'll help them — and you — relax.
English playwright and poet John Dryden coined the word witticism in the 17th century, combining the words witty and criticism to come up with a word to describe a clever quip that has a hint of sharpness or irony. A witticism is typically a one-liner that humorously sums up the current situation — with a little bit of attitude thrown in.
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Vocabulary lists containing witticism
Published in 1906, this novel helped expose the oppressive and unsafe labor conditions in Chicago's meatpacking industry.
When Edna Pontellier meets Robert Lebrun, she begins to question her roles as wife and mother. Set in New Orleans in the late 1800s, this pioneering novel is considered to be an early feminist classic. Read the full text here.
This satirical novel imagines a dystopian future in which people have computers implanted in their heads to control their perceptions of reality.
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