bon mot
Pithy verbal gem
A bon mot is a clever or witty remark, the kind that gets quoted afterward.
The French phrase means "good word," and the term retains a slightly formal or literary flavor: She was known for her devastating bon mots.
Plural: bon mots or bons mots.
Brief, clever remark
- epigramPithy, memorable saying
- witticismClever, amusing remark
- reparteeQuick, clever conversation
- one-linerBrief standalone joke
zinger · retort · sally · riposte · comeback · wisecrack · barb · jest
- Dorothy ParkerRazor-tongued New Yorker
- VoltaireFrench Enlightenment satirist
- La RochefoucauldFrench nobleman who wrote maxims
- witClever, inventive humor
Mark Twain · salon · raconteur · conversationalist · epigrammatist · drawing room · repartee
quip
Brief, clever remark
one-liner · zinger · retort · sally · riposte · comeback · wisecrack · barb · jest · jape
Oscar Wilde
- Dorothy ParkerRazor-tongued New Yorker
- VoltaireFrench Enlightenment satirist
- La RochefoucauldFrench nobleman who wrote maxims
Mark Twain · wit · salon · raconteur · conversationalist · epigrammatist · drawing room · repartee
saying
Short, wise expression
dictum · axiom · precept · truism · apothegm · gnome · pearl of wisdom · pithy remark · nugget · gem
- French Loanwordsa la carte, ballet, a la mode, au revoir, bon appetit
- brevitybrevity, concise, succinct, terse, pithy
- comedy termsjokes, puns, wit, sarcasm, irony
- comedy writingjoke, jokes, comedy, satire, parody
- expressionsexpression, I love you, phrase, idioms, thank you
- jokesjokes, joke, puns, one-liners, pun