(1)机智，幽默(ability to convey cleverness and humour)[U]： the～of American cartoonists 美国漫画家的幽默; quick～and chirpy humour 机敏的才智和愉快的幽默; laugh at/admire sb's～嘲笑/羡慕某人的才智; have a ready～有机敏的口才; His conversation/talk sparkles with～. 他的谈话妙语连珠。A good after-dinner speech must contain some～. 出色的餐后致辞应有风趣。His stories/plays are filled with～. 他的故事/戏剧充满睿智和幽默。Her literary style is full of～and charm. 她的文学风格充满风趣和魅力。Her writing shows her～/is known for its～. 她的写作显示出她思维敏捷/以思维敏捷著称。Attic/mother～妙语/天资; A fall into the pit，a gain in your～. 吃一堑，长一智。〖同〗cleverness，brightness;〖反〗seriousness，gravity，solemnity，dullness;

(2)机智幽默的人(person who has this ability)[C]： the famous/world's greatest～那位著名的/世界上首屈一指的机智幽默之人; a well-known～and raconteur 有名的妙语连珠会讲故事的人; As a～， he is a popular after-dinner speaker. 他妙趣横生，是一位受欢迎的餐后演说家。The speaker acquired a reputation as a～. 讲演者以其机智幽默赢得声誉。〖同〗humorist，joker，jokester，comedian;

(3)悟性，机智，理智(power of understanding and intelligence)[U;通常pl]：have slow/sharp～s 头脑迟钝/敏捷;match one's～against sb's strength 用自己的智慧与某人的力气相抗衡; rack/work one's～s 冥思苦想(绞尽脑汁)动脑筋; show a great deal of～in handling the delicate situation 显示出应付复杂形势的过人才智; use/lose one's～利用/失去自己的理智; No one has had the～to bring a bottle-opener. 没人想到带开瓶子的起子。He hasn't the～(s) to say no/to defend himself/to realize the danger. 他不知如何说不/他没有保护自己的能力/他没能意识到存在的危险。It is surely not beyond the～of the government to solve this simple problem. 政府肯定有能力解决这么简单的问题。be past the～of man to understand 非人的智力所能理解的; The intrigues of court/Living in continual poverty had sharpened their～s. 法庭上的诡计/连年的贫困生活使他们增长了才智。The explosion frightened/scared me out of my～s.(infml) 爆炸吓得我魂不附体。drive sb out of his～s 使某人不知所措; I was out of my～s with worry. 我急得不知所措。He relies entirely on his native～/has the～to see the weak point in his opponent's argument at once. 他完全依靠天赋/凭借悟性，立刻发现了对方论点中的漏洞。〖同〗intelligence，wisdom，insight，penetration;〖反〗foolishness，stupidity，silliness;

at one's wits' end 计穷，不知所措： The authorities are at their～s' end about juvenile delinquency. 当局对少年犯罪问题已无计可施。

collect/gather one's wits 恢复理智： Before I had gathered/collected my～s she had disappeared. 等我稳住神儿之后，她已经不见了。

have/keep one's wits about one 警觉： In this part of the city，you have to keep your～s about you all the time. 在这个城市的这个地区，你必须随时保持警惕。

to wit(旧用法，fml)也就是说; 即： We speak in a language they don't know，to～，English. 我们所说的语言，即英语，他们不懂。

→′witless adj 愚蠢的;′witticism n 诙谐的言语;′wittily adv 诙谐风趣地;′wittiness n 诙谐，风趣;′witty adj 诙谐风趣的;͵dim-′witted adj 愚笨的;͵quick-′witted adj 机敏的;͵slow-′witted adj 迟钝的;

【辨异】wit 与humour 的区别见HUMOUR。