- joke
- joke, jest, jape, quip, witticism, wisecrack, crack, gag are comparable when they mean a remark, story, or action intended to evoke laughter.Joke, when applied to a story or remark, suggests something designed to promote good humor and especially an anecdote with a humorous twist at the end; when applied to an action, it often signifies a practical joke, usually suggesting a fooling or deceiving of someone at his expense, generally though not necessarily good humored in intent{
everyone knows the old joke, that "black horses eat more than white horses," a puzzling condition which is finally cleared up by the statement that "there are more black horses"— Reilly
}{issues had become a hopeless muddle and national politics a biennial joke— Wecter
}{a child hiding mother's pocketbook as a joke
}{the whole tale turns out to be a monstrous joke, a deception of matchless cruelty— Redman
}Jest may connote raillery or ridicule but more generally suggests humor that is light and sportive Continually . . . making a jest of his ignorance— J. D. Beresford){won fame by jests at the foibles of his time, but . . his pen was more playful than caustic— Williams & Pollard
}Jape is identical with jest or joke{the merry japes of fundamentally irresponsible young men— Edmund Fuller
}{the japes about sex still strike me as being prurient rather than funny— McCarten
}Quip suggests a quick, neatly turned, witty remark{full of wise saws and homely illustrations, the epigram, the quip, the jest— Cardozo
}{many quips at the expense of individuals and their villages— Mead
}{enlivened their reviews with quips— Dunham
}Witticism, wisecrack, and crack all apply to a clever or witty, especially a biting or sarcastic, remark, generally serving as a retort{all the charming witticisms of English lecturers— Sevareid
}{a vicious witticism at the expense of a political opponent
}{merely strolls by, makes a goofy wisecrack or screwball suggestion— Hugh Humphrey
}{though the gravity of the situation forbade their utterance, I was thinking of at least three priceless cracks I could make— Wodehouse
}Gag, which in this relation basically signifies an interpolated joke or laugh-provoking piece of business, more generally applies to a remark, story, or piece of business considered funny, especially one written into a theatrical, movie, radio, or television script. Sometimes the word has extended its meaning to signify a trick whether funny or not but usually one considered foolish{gags grown venerable in the service of the music halls— Times Lit. Sup.
}{the gag was not meant to be entirely funny— Newsweek
}{gave a party the other night and pulled a really constructive gag . . . had every guest in the place vaccinated against smallpox— Hollywood Reporter
}{a frivolous person, given to gags and foolishness
}
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
