Daily Cascade

On Wise-cracking vs. Wit

Prompt:
"There's a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words."
Dorothy Parker
How short is the distance between wise-cracking and wit, and what do you think of wise-cracking people vs. people with wit?

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Both wise-cracking and wit live in the town of humor, in their essence. They are, however, not the same thing.

To begin with, wise-cracking is shallow, usually exaggerated and spilt out as a reaction, but it is quick. It can also be funny in a way to shock, mock, sass, or rebel. I think I've used up my wise-cracking on my poor mother just only once or twice and her reaction cured me for life. Still, wise-cracking can be a snappy comeback or a jab, which was never my forte, anyway.

I can usually think of comebacks after the fact and after many hours or days, once I've finished stewing in my disillusionment.

An example to a wise-crack to someone who has arrived late: “Oh, glad you could finally join us—did you stop to invent the wheel on the way here?”
A witty way for the same situation, that may be more clever and less biting could be: “Ah, don't worry! You’ve arrived just in time—punctuality, after all, is only a matter of perspective.”

After all, wit is like a candle's flame, steady, giving off light, and lingering in the mind, whereas a wise-crack goes off in a flash. Unlike a wise-crack, wit has more finesse. It is thoughtful, layered, and often shows one's intelligence mixed with humor. Then, mostly, wit has more of a staying power.

As Aristotle said, "Wit is educated insolence." That, I guess makes wise-cracking just a streetwise loser, in comparison. Yet, Voltaire said, "A witty saying proves nothing." True, it proves nothing, but it doesn't bite like a wise-cracking quick utterance or insult, either.