cutting wit
Biting clever humor
Cutting wit is humor that wounds—sharp, incisive remarks that expose weakness or folly while making observers laugh.
The cutting suggests a blade's edge: precise, deliberate, capable of drawing blood.
Someone with cutting wit can devastate an opponent while appearing merely clever: Her cutting wit made him afraid to speak at dinner parties.
The phrase implies intelligence deployed with a certain ruthlessness.
- sharpFine-edged, or astute
- razor sharpExtremely fine edge
- bitingHarshly critical or cold
- sarcasmIrony used to mock
- sardonicGrimly mocking
acerbic · barbed · rapier · silver tongue · tongue · sting · clever · dry · dry humor · dead pan · scathing · incisive · piercing · quip · bon mot · retort · snark · caustic
cutting witdullness
Lack of stimulation
witlessness · humorlessness · obtuseness · gracelessness · stolidity
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