Definition

Noun: A clever, witty, or playful display of intellect, typically expressed in a brief piece of writing or a spoken remark. It emphasizes lightness, brilliance, and humor over depth or seriousness.

Usage

A jeu d'esprit is used to describe a witty or ingenious creation, often literary, that is characterized by its cleverness and playful spirit. It is a showcase of intellectual agility and humor.

Examples

• The essay was not a rigorous analysis but a delightful , full of puns and clever turns of phrase.
• His after-dinner speech was a perfect , charming the audience with its wit and brevity.
• The magazine published a short that cleverly satirized current political trends.

Advanced Usage

• The term often implies a work that is slight in form or purpose but exceptional in its clever execution. It is an intellectual diversion.
• It can sometimes carry a slightly dismissive connotation, suggesting something is more about showing off wit than conveying substantive content, though usually in a positive light.

Variants and Related Words

• Bon mot (n): A clever remark or witticism. (A is similar but is strictly a witty saying, while a can be a longer written piece.)
• Epigram (n): A concise, clever, and often paradoxical statement or poem. (An is a specific form that a might take.)

Synonyms

• Witticism: A clever and witty remark.
• Pleasantry: A polite or amusing remark, often less intellectual than a .
• Whimsy: Playfully quaint or fanciful humor, often in artistic form.

Idioms and Phrases

Note: As a borrowed French phrase, 'jeu d'esprit' itself functions as a fixed expression in English and is not typically part of English idioms or phrasal verbs.

Noun

1. a witty comment or writing