Wisecracking

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Engaging in the act of making witty or sarcastic remarks often to amuse or mock
2. Behaving in a way that involves clever or sharp humor usually targeting a situation or person
3. Expressing oneself through playful or ironic comments intended to entertain or provoke laughter

Etymology: "Wisecracking" is the present participle of "wisecrack," and the verb itself is a plain compound of "wise" and "crack." The "wise" here is the old sense meaning "manner" or "way," as in "otherwise" and "likewise," so the sense is roughly "a crack in the manner of..." Here "crack" carries its older meaning of a sharp, quick remark, a smart retort, or a joke, the same sense that gives us "wisecrack" as a noun for a clever, cutting quip. The pairing shows how the two parts drifted apart in meaning. "Wise" today suggests sagacity, while the compound refers to flippant, quick-witted talk, which is not the usual idea of wisdom at all. The result is a word whose literal parts point in a direction its meaning does not follow.

Synonyms: joking, jesting, quipping, bantering, sarcasm