Comedy has to be done en clair. You can't blunt the edge of wit or the point of satire with obscurity. Try to imagine a famous witty saying that is not immediately clear.
Come, come, leave business to idlers, and wisdom to fools: they have need of 'em: wit be my faculty, and pleasure my occupation, and let father Time shake his glass.
A proverb is the wisdom of many and the wit of one.
Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which, before their union, were not perceived to have any relation.
Wit must be foiled by wit: cut a diamond with a diamond.
Making a book is a craft, like making a clock; it needs more than native wit to be an author.
Wit is so shining a quality that everybody admires it; most people aim at it, all people fear it, and few love it unless in themselves. A man must have a good share of wit himself to endure a great share of it in another.
Wit in women is apt to have bad consequences; like a sword without a scabbard, it wounds the wearer and provokes assailants.
In Paris, you learn wit, in London you learn to crush your social rivals, and in Florence you learn poise.
Silence is the wit of fools.
Wit doesn't make girls pretty.
I think puns are not just the lowest form of wit, but the lowest form of human behavior.
The genius of the Spanish people is exquisitely subtle, without being at all acute; hence there is so much humour and so little wit in their literature.
Brevity is the soul of wit.
The first ingredient in conversation is truth, the next good sense, the third good humor, and the fourth wit.
My father lived life to the fullest, even though it was cut short at a young age in 1962. He was known for his intelligence, wit, wisdom, a wonderful sense of humour, a great personality, and a genuine goodwill towards all.
I'm keeping my acerbic wit completely fueled.
You cannot fashion a wit out of two half-wits.
Next to being witty, the best thing is being able to quote another's wit.
As we celebrate President Reagan's remarkable career and historic legacy, we also celebrate a man of strong character, deep conviction, unforgettable charm, and wonderful wit.
Wit is an explosion of the compound spirit.
Impropriety is the soul of wit.
A wit should be no more sincere than a woman constant.
I definitely did look up to John. We all looked up to John. He was older and he was very much the leader; he was the quickest wit and the smartest.
Wit is the only wall between us and the dark.
Women are blessed with lots and lots of extra ways to win or lose validation. If you're a woman, you'll be judged on your beauty and your wit and how often you smile. You'll be judged on how much hair you have in some places and not in others.
Prithee don't screw your wit beyond the compass of good manners.
Generally speaking, there is more wit than talent in the world. Society swarms with witty people who lack talent.
Where might is mixed with wit, there is too good an accord in a government.
There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.
Perhaps, as some wit remarked, the best proof that there is Intelligent Life in Outer Space is the fact it hasn't come here. Well, it can't hide forever - one day we will overhear it.
While the laughter of joy is in full harmony with our deeper life, the laughter of amusement should be kept apart from it. The danger is too great of thus learning to look at solemn things in a spirit of mockery, and to seek in them opportunities for exercising wit.
My mother studied English and drama at the University of Pennsylvania, where my father studied architecture. She was a great influence in all sorts of ways, a wicked wit.
Different identity groups hold specific levels of power over others when their battles play out in the media. To wit: Black beats white. Gay beats white. Black beats gay.
In conversation, humor is worth more than wit and easiness more than knowledge.
You have a ready wit. Tell me when it's ready.
