Many Roman writers seem to have composed epigrams, including Domitius Marsus, whose collection Cicuta ( now lost ) was named after the poisonous plant Cicuta for its biting wit, and Lucan, more famous for his epic Pharsalia.

He was the author of a collection of epigrams called Cicuta (" hemlock ") for their bitter sarcasm, and of a beautiful epitaph on the death of Tibullus ; of elegiac poems, probably of an erotic character ; of an epic poem Amazonis ; and of a prose work on wit ( De urbanitate ).

As in the wit of Dorothy Parker's set, the Algonquin Round Table, witty remarks may be intentionally cruel ( as in many epigrams ), and perhaps more ingenious than funny.

His Latin epigrams, which have both sense and wit in a high degree, gained him much applause, and were translated into English, French, German, and Spanish.

But nothing can diminish the wit and the pleasure of Wilde's epigrams.

Národní noviny became popular especially for his sharp-tongued epigrams and his wit.

In such a case, a court will accept an affidavit from the filing attorney in support of the motion, as certain assumptions are made, to wit: The affidavit in place of sworn testimony promotes judicial economy.

Yet these are not solely bleak in nature and demonstrate the artist's sharp satirical wit, particularly evident in etchings such as Hunting for Teeth.

She was also noted for her wit ; among her numerous sayings and quips are " Much more genius is needed to make love than to command armies " and " We should take care to lay in a stock of provisions, but not of pleasures: these should be gathered day by day.

David Campbell has briefly summarized some of the most arresting qualities of Sappho's poetry: Clarity of language and simplicity of thought are everywhere evident in our fragments ; wit and rhetoric, so common in English love-poetry and not quite absent from Catullus ' love poems, are nowhere to be found.

To fans, Sondheim's musical sophistication is considered to be greater than that of many of his musical theatre peers, and his lyrics are likewise renowned for their ambiguity, wit, and urbanity.

' It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda '; or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best – chosen language.

O. Henry's short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.

Ebert's reviews are also often characterized by dry wit.

Word play or wordplay is a literary technique and a form of wit in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement.

However, because she is known for her wit, statements are sometimes attributed to her without conclusive proof that she actually said them.

When the chips are down they all default to power positions and self-protection and status and the one woman who was a challenge to them, with all with her wit and intellect, they are all gleeful and relieved to see crushed.

His lyric poems as a whole give evidence of deep and lively sensibility, fine imagination, clever wit, and a true ear for melody and rhythm ; but an air of cynicism is more or less present in most of them, and dull or vulgar witticisms are not infrequently found side by side with the purest inspirations of his genius.

They are noted for great wit and complex plots, featuring misunderstandings and coincidences, and what one critic called " jack-in-the-box construction ".

Further, there are expressions as ' three joints ' and ' nine resemblances ' ( of the dragon ), to wit: from head to shoulder, from shoulder to breast, from breast to tail.

He was a regular guest at parties at the American consulate, and with his usual wit, enchanted the guests with verbal flourishes such as " the artist's only positive virtue is idleness — and there are so few who are gifted at it.

Louise Bogan, writing for Nation, surmised that while " the book's great beauties, its wonderful passages of wit, its variety, its mark of genius and immense learning are undeniable [...], to read the book over a long period of time gives one the impression of watching intemperance become addiction, become debauch " and argued that " Joyce's delight in reducing man's learning, passion, and religion to a hash is also disturbing.

When two men are together, one of them may see some opportunity which the other has not caught sight of ; if a man is alone he is less full of resource, and his wit is weaker.

When two men are together, one of them may see some opportunity which the other has not caught sight of ; if a man is alone he is less full of resource, and his wit is weaker.

" With such wit and wisdom, imagination and innovation, we are led to a fuller awareness and greater understanding of the true relevance of familiar terms to each of our own lives.

Hailed by both critics and fans as one of his best albums, it was praised as " a superb new album which sees a return to the form he showed to full effect on those classics like ' Only Visiting This Planet ' and ' So Long Ago the Garden ' back in the mid seventies " with 13 new " songs are cleverly arranged and produced, with plenty of pertinent lyrical imagery and the sly wit of yore amongst the electric guitar solos and breezy ( sampled?

The care and method with which the moral grounds of these pictures are laid is as remarkable as the wit and skill of the observing and dexterous artist.

She interviewed her fellow expatriate writers and artists for U. S. periodicals and soon became a well-known figure on the local scene ; her black cloak and her acerbic wit are remembered in many memoirs of the time.

His biting wit involved him in many controversies with well-known contemporaries, such as the Swiss physiognomist Johann Kaspar Lavater whose science of physiognomy he ridiculed, and Johann Heinrich Voss, whose views on Greek pronunciation called forth a powerful satire, Über die Pronunciation der Schöpse des alten Griechenlandes.

His first magazine papers, among which were A Lounge in the Œil de Bœuf, An Excursion of some English Actors to China, Cousin Emily, and The Shrift on the Rail, brought him into communication with Harrison Ainsworth, Laman Blanchard, and other well-known men, and he soon became the centre of a strong muster of literary friends, who found pleasure in his wit and social qualities.

That we had the wit and wisdom to adopt Mr. Lowell's concept and make it the base for our processes of selection is one reason why our selections have been, it may be said truly, pretty uniformly good.

Somewhat to his surprise he found that one girl, whom he would never have considered for the job since she had appeared somewhat mousy and also had been in the office a relatively short time, did the most outstanding job of playing the role of receptionist, showing wit, sparkle, and aplomb.

Shrubs wit shoot buds not stalked, male and female catkins produced in late spring ( after leaves appear ) and expanding and pollinating then, one to four species:

He is known as a master of quick wit and widely considered one of the best comedians of the modern era.

Saint-Simon noted " Ninon made friends among the great in every walk of life, had wit and intelligence enough to keep them, and, what is more, to keep them friendly with one another.

He was not only one of the most popular musicians to come out of the West Coast's " cool jazz " scene, but also the possessor of a legendary and idiosyncratic wit.

Well known for his wit and sense of humor, one of Marshall's most enduring jokes came during a Senate debate in which, in response to Senator Joseph Bristow's catalog of the nation's needs, Marshall quipped the often-repeated phrase, " What this country needs is a really good five-cent cigar ", provoking laughter.

" The Times praised both the libretto and the music of the first act (" Everything sparkles with the flashes of Mr. Gilbert's wit and the graces of Sir Arthur Sullivan's melodiousness ... one is almost at a loss what to select for quotation from an embarrassment of humorous riches.

Sir Walter Cope, asked by Robert Cecil to select a play for the Queen during her brother Duke Ulric of Holstein's visit, wrote, " Burbage is come and says there is no new play the Queen has not seen but they have revived an old one called Love's Labour's Lost which for wit and mirth he says will please her exceedingly.

For example, one episode depicts characters dancing to Will Smith's " Gettin ' Jiggy wit It " mere weeks after the song's release, whereas the sequence itself was designed and animated months earlier.

While this and the many other theories offer their own measure of plausibility, attesting at least to the wit of later partisans and historians, if not of the French people at the time of this term's origin, " no one of the several theories advanced has afforded satisfaction.

His characteristic idiom suggests he is a ' natural ' fool, not an artificial one, though his perceptiveness and wit show that he is far from being an idiot, however ' touched ' he might be.

He possessed considerable powers of wit and sarcasm, and was fond of playing upon words ; saying, for instance, that he would rather fall among crows ( korakes ) than flatterers ( kolakes ), for the one devour the dead, but the other the living.

And Stow tells us that the steeple had five lanterns ; to wit, one at each corner, and ' It seemeth that the lanterns on the top of this steeple were meant to have been glazed, and lights in them to have been placed nightly in the winter ; whereby travellers to the city might have the better sight thereof, and not miss their way.

Even a splash of high heroic drama might be thrown in to enrich the comedy mix, as in George Etherege's Love in a Tub ( 1664 ), which has one heroic verse " conflict between love and friendship " plot, one urbane wit comedy plot, and one burlesque pantsing plot.

A pithy expression that has not necessarily gained credit through long use, but is distinguished by particular depth or good style is an aphorism, while one distinguished by wit or irony is an epigram.

Called a " sophisticated country lawyer ", he remains notable for his wit and agnosticism, which marked him as one of the most famous American lawyers and civil libertarians.