smartish remark
- noun
- During the meeting, her smartish remark lightened the mood and prompted laughter.
Examples
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He was known for his quick smartish remarks that made everyone laugh.
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One smartish remark at the wrong time can get you into trouble.
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She couldn't resist making a smartish remark during the discussion.
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What a smartish remark!
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Tom made a smartish remark yesterday.
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His smartish remark about the movie made everyone giggle at the party.
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I appreciated his smartish remark that cleverly pointed out the flaw in the plan.
Synonyms
A short clever remark that surprises and amuses people
A short funny or sarcastic remark meant to be clever
Short, clever answers that make people laugh or the skill of giving them in conversation
A clever short remark meant to make people laugh
A clever short comment that makes people laugh
A short clever remark that often makes people laugh
A short funny remark or action that makes people smile
A short teasing remark that makes someone laugh without hurting them
A short clever remark or piece of writing that is playful
A bold, slightly rude comment that makes people laugh
Antonyms
How Witty
Surface Forms
Morphology
smartish + remark
The phrase is largely compositional: 'smartish' can be parsed as 'smart' + the suffix '-ish' (meaning somewhat/slightly), and 'remark' means comment, so a learner who knows the parts can infer a 'somewhat clever or witty comment'. However, the exact nuance (slightly cheeky/ironic) and the relative rarity of 'smartish' in English make the pragmatic flavor less predictable without exposure.
Etymology
The noun smartish remark may come from smart meaning 'a small sharp sting', with smartish making it a little sting, so imagine a quick word that lightly hurts. So a smartish remark is like a small, clever sting of words and now means 'a clever or slightly cheeky comment'.