wit

at one's wit's end

Fig. at the limits of one's mental resources. I'm at my wit's end with this problem. I cannot figure it out. Tom could do no more. He was at his wit's end.

See also: end

Brevity is the soul of wit.

Prov. Jokes and humorous stories are funnier if they are short. Dale took ten minutes to tell that joke; he obviously doesn't know that brevity is the soul of wit. The comedian was in the middle of a long, tedious story when someone in the audience shouted, "Brevity is the soul of wit!"

See also: soul

frighten one out of one's wits and scare one out of one's wits; frighten someone out of a year's growth; scare someone out of a year's growth; frighten one out of one's mind; scare one out of one's mind

Fig. to frighten one very badly. Oh! That loud noise scared me out of my wits. I'll give him a good scolding and frighten him out of his wits. Oh, you frightened me out of a year's growth! You frightened Bob out of his mind.

See also: frighten, one, out

frighten the hell out of someone and frighten the pants off someone; frighten the living daylights out of someone; scare the living daylights out of someone; scare the shit out of someone; scare the wits out of someone

to frighten someone badly, suddenly or both. (Use of hell and shit are crude.) These figures frighten the hell out of me. The door blew shut and scared the shit out of me. It takes a lot to scare the pants off a hardened criminal.

See also: frighten, hell, out

get one's wits about one and have one's wits about one

Fig. to keep one's thinking in order or make one's mind work smoothly, especially in a time of stress. (See also keep one's wits about one.) Let me get my wits about me so I can figure this out. I don't have my wits about me at this time of the morning.

See also: get, one

keep one's wits about (one)

Fig. to remain rational when threatened or under stress; to keep one's mind operating in a time of stress. If Jane hadn't kept her wits about her during the fire, things would have been much worse. I could hardly keep my wits about me.

See also: keep

live by one's wits

Fig. to survive by being clever. When you're in the kind of business I'm in, you have to live by your wits. John was orphaned at the age of ten and grew up living by his wits.

See also: live

match wits (with someone)

Fig. to enter into intellectual competition with someone. Whenever I try to match wits with Fred, he always ends up running circles around me with his clever repartee.

See also: match

ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit

Prov. Knowing when to refrain from making jokes is better than being able to make jokes all the time. Mabel makes fun of everybody, regardless of whether or not she hurts their feelings. Someone should tell her that an ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit.

See also: discretion, ounce, pound, worth

sharp wit

Fig. a good and fast ability to make jokes and funny comments. Terry has a sharp wit and often makes cracks that force people to laugh aloud at inappropriate times.

See also: sharp

to wit

namely; that is; that is to say. The criminal was punished; to wit, he received a 20-year sentence. Many students, to wit Mary, Bill, Sue, and Anne, complained about their teacher.

You scared the hell out of me. and You scared the crap out of me.; You scared the dickens out of me.; You scared the devil out of me.; You scared me out of my wits.; You scared the pants off (of) me.

You frightened me very badly. (Also with subjects other than second person. Of is usually retained before pronouns.) He scared the hell out of all of us. She really scared the pants off of me.

See also: hell, out, scare

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a battle of wits

a situation in which two people or groups try to defeat each other by using their intelligence (often + between ) It appears that the battle of wits between the two negotiating teams is set to continue for some time.

See also: battle

a half-wit  (informal)

a stupid person Some half-wit had filled the kettle too full and water spilt out everywhere.

be at your wits' end

to be very worried or upset because you have tried every possible way to solve a problem but cannot do it I've tried everything I can think of to make her eat and she flatly refuses. I'm really at my wits' end.

See also: end

frighten/scare somebody out of their wits

to make someone very frightened Don't shout like that - you scared me out of my wits!

See also: frighten, out

frighten/scare the hell out of somebody   (informal)

to make someone feel very frightened He drives like a madman - frightens the hell out of me.

See also: frighten, hell, out

gather your wits  (literary)

to make an effort to become calm and think more clearly Sitting down in one of the chairs I attempted to gather my wits and decide what I should do.

See also: gather

have/keep your wits about you

to be ready to think quickly in a situation and react to things that you are not expecting Cycling is potentially very dangerous in London - you really need to keep your wits about you.

See gather wits, live by wits, pit wits against

See also: have

live by/on your wits

to earn enough money to live by being clever or cheating people A lot of these kids are thrown out onto the streets and they have to live by their wits.

See also: live

pit your wits against somebody/something

to compete against someone or something using your intelligence That's the pleasure of fishing - pitting your wits against these clever little fish that are trying desperately not to get caught.

See also: against, pit

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.

something that you say which means that using sarcasm (= saying the opposite of what you mean to make a joke) is unpleasant and is not a very clever thing to do 'We're so grateful to you for arriving only 20 minutes late!' 'Oh really, Matthew, don't you know sarcasm is the lowest form of wit?'

See also: form, low

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at your wit's end

so upset that you do not know what to do I have a problem that has me at wit's end, and I'm hoping you can help.

See also: end

frighten somebody out of their wits also scare somebody out of their wits

to cause extreme fear in someone Don't sneak up behind me like that – you frightened me out of my wits!

See also: frighten, out

gather your wits

to make an effort to be calm and think I was really scared, but I knew I had to gather my wits and try to figure out what to do.

See also: gather

have your wits about you also keep your wits about you

to be able to think clearly The engines failed, but the pilot had his wits about him and managed to get them started again. She managed to keep her wits about her and was able to escape unharmed.

See also: have

live by your wits also live on your wits

to exist by taking advantage of any opportunity you have Kids thrown on the streets with no family to support them have to live by their wits.

See also: live