the.com/wit
the shortest distance between two minds, traveled at the speed of a smirk
means The capacity to perceive and express clever, surprising connections between ideas, usually fast and usually funny.
from From Old English 'witt,' meaning the mind, understanding, or intelligence — the seat of thought itself, related to the verb 'witan,' to know (which still echoes in 'unwitting' and 'to wit'). It belongs to a broad Germanic family and is a distant cousin of Latin 'videre,' to see, and Sanskrit 'veda,' knowledge — the deep idea being that to know is to see clearly. For centuries 'wit' simply meant intellect; only later did it narrow toward the quick, clever, comic sense we favor now, as if the whole mind had been sharpened to a single bright edge.
- latin root
- shares ancestry with 'video' and 'wisdom'—to see clearly
- brevity rule
- Shakespeare called it the soul of wit
- old meaning
- once meant the five physical senses entirely
- reaction time
- esprit d'escalier names the comeback you find too late
- brain demand
- requires holding two meanings at once, fast
oscar wilde — irish playwright and author known for paradoxical one-liners like 'i can resist everything except temptation'
dorothy parker — american writer and critic famous for sharp quips at the algonquin round table in 1920s new york
groucho marx — comedian and actor known for rapid-fire insults and absurdist humor in films and on you bet your life