Wit literary term | Definitions and Examples of Wit

Wit:

Wit is a kind of short and bright expression intended to produce a shock of comic surprise by a comparison between dissimilar objects or concepts. It differs from humor in being intellectual and verbal. Wit finds expression in puns, metaphors, and paradoxes.

Examples:

We find many Wits in Bacon's Essay. These are following

• Unmarried men are best friends, best masters, best servants, but not always best subjects. (Of  marriage and single life)

We also find wits in "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen