How Witty Are You Really?

By: Elisabeth Henderson
Estimated Completion Time
5 min
How Witty Are You Really?
Image: Unsplash by Matheus Ferrero

About This Quiz

A quick wit is easy to recognize and difficult to cultivate. The Cambridge Dictionary defines wit as “the ability to use words in a clever and humorous way.” Using words cleverly with humor, though, describes the bare minimum of what makes a person witty. Because in order to use those words a person must have a keen understanding of the social situation, an impeccable sense of timing, a confidence to say the unexpected without regard to whether or not people will appreciate it and an intelligence about what makes something funny, especially in the current context. 

So, wit has to do with mastery of language, an ability to say something that packs a powerful punch in a concise package. How do you develop this ability? Mastery of language comes from engaging regularly with other language masters—excellent literary works filled to the brim with witticisms that turn the meaning of a scene on its head. Politicians, who must by trade master the art of rhetoric, can often show their wit in surprising ways on the world stage. Comedians earn a living based on their ability to wield the power of wit. Pay attention to how the masters use language, and dissect what makes their quips humorous. Some humor comes naturally, but being funny is also an art form that takes discipline to acquire.

Do you have the skills to crack up intelligent party-goers? Should your sayings go viral as internet memes because of their brilliance? If so, you should have some pun with this quiz! 

reddit
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What is the wittiest place on the internet?
McSweeney’s
Twitter
Reddit
Bored Panda

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Dinner Party
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If you find yourself at a dinner party in vibrant conversation, how do you play it?
Listen closely and interject a comment at just the right time
Stay silent most of the time and then say something that catches everyone off guard
Make jokes based off something someone else said
Keep trying to think of something to say, but think of it too late

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Barack Obama
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Who was the funniest president?
Barack Obama
Abraham Lincoln
Bill Clinton
G.H.W. Bush

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controlling laugh
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What kind of humor will make you laugh the hardest?
Literary jokes
Political banter
Low and dirty
Slapstick

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Laughing couple
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What, in your opinion, is the most crucial element of a good joke?
Concision
Language
Timing
The way you say it

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Ellen DeGeneres
Syndication
Which of the following quick wits would you most want to be like?
Oscar Wilde
Abraham Lincoln
Ellen Degeneres
Jeff Foxworthy

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Friends laughing
Oliver Rossi / Stone / Getty Images
When do you usually come up with the perfect comeback?
Exactly when I need it
About ten minutes before I need it
On the spot
Two hours too late

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Donald Trump
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How would you finish the following sentence, “Politicians and diapers must be changed often and ____”?
For the same reason
With care
They stink
Hmm, forgot the last part

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Dinner Party
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How do you feel when a table full of people look at you in anticipation of what you’re going to say?
A sense of tingling excitement
A quiet joy
An adrenaline rush
So anxious I feel sick

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Mom and son
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How do you typically talk when you interact with children?
I speak to them as I do to adults.
I speak slowly and carefully.
I try not to cuss as much.
I usually talk more like a child.

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Conversation
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Which of the following literary devices would you be comfortable using in a conversation?
Metaphor
Allegory
Simile
What’s a literary device?

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Friends laughing
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Which of the following has the power to make a joke a whole lot funnier?
If you say it with exquisite style
If you can deliver it with perfect timing
If you can connect it back to a joke much earlier in the evening
If you tell it multiple times

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Family dinner party
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When you tell a joke in a small group of people, what kind of reaction do you typically get?
Silence, followed by laughter
Touché!
Surprised laughter
A few awkward laughs

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Mom and daughter cracking up
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What makes for a good punch line?
Something completely unexpected that turns a joke on its head
Carefully crafted language
Just the right amount of raunch
Obvious enough that everyone gets it

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Trevor Noah
Comedy Central
Which comedian is killing it these days?
Hasan Minaj
Trevor Noah
Hannah Gadsby
Larry the Cable Guy

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Woman in hell
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How would you complete this famous witty statement: “Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the ____”?
Company
Warmth
Hell of it
Fun of it

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Busy Restaurant
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If you walk past a table at a restaurant and overhear something that you have a perfect response to, what would you do?
Stop and deliver my quip
Whisper it to my friend
Say it loudly as I pass
That would never happen to me.

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Tell joke friends
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If you are in conversation with people you don’t know and you think of something hilarious but inappropriate, what do you do?
Say it in a way that it’s only ambiguously inappropriate
Hold it in
Say it bluntly and enjoy how people react
I don’t typically think of hilarious things to say

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Friends conversing
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Would you rather be an active participant in a conversation or a bystander?
Leading the conversation
Active when I need to be, but mostly listening
I like to be the star of the show
Definitely bystander

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Excited woman
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How well do you know what you’re going to say before you say it?
I know at least half of the sentence and the rest just comes to me.
Every word and also the tone
I realize it as its coming out.
I think I know what to say then it doesn’t come out quite right.

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Female friends laughing
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How likely are you to throw out a dirty pun on something innocent a friend said?
50/50
Very unlikely
100%
If I think of it, I’m 25% likely to say it.

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Smiling woman at party
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Which of the following best describes your conversational style?
Quick and concise banter
Thoughtful and pointed statements
Wacky and off-the-cuff declarations
A bit slow on the uptake

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Party joke
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When you tell a joke, what is the most pressing thing on your mind?
Whether it linked up with the context exactly how I wanted
Whether I delivered the language how I meant it
Whether it got a rise out of people
Whether I seemed funny

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Woman laugh at phone
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Which of the following are you most likely to read?
Literary classics
Political essays
Humorous narratives
Internet memes

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Audience laugh
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What is a question you consider when you hear a joke that really makes you laugh?
Which word was most crucial in that joke?
How would the meaning change if I changed one word?
Why didn’t they tell that joke in a more raunchy way so that it would be even funnier?
What does it mean, though?

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friends
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What is a reason you would reference a joke someone made earlier in the evening in your own humorous statement?
The humor builds on itself
Bringing in something from earlier increases the complexity and, hence, the pleasure of the joke
It’s like a comedic routine
Because I don’t know what else to say

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Couple laughing at book
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What kind of humor do you appreciate when you are reading a book?
When a character makes a quip that perfectly stops someone in their tracks
When the drama takes an ironic turn
When someone says something absolutely hilarious that no one understands
When someone says something funny that I’ll be able to remember and tell my friends

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Friends hiking
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Which element do you find most crucial to understand when analyzing why something is funny?
Timing
Context
Audience
The words themselves

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Friends laughing rooftop
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If you’re on a roll at a party, when is the best time to stop?
When people are asking for more
When they’re asking you to explain
When they’re rolling in laughter
When everyone stops laughing

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Comedians joke
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Can a good joke be recreated?
If you can recreate the context
Definitely not
Sure, if you tell it all the way through
It doesn't usually get the same reaction when I try to

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