noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a ready wit
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an intelligent man with a ready wit
addle sb’s brains/wits
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All that drink has addled his brains!
caustic wit/comments/remark etc
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Eliot appreciated Pound’s caustic wit.
pit your wits against sb (= compete against someone using your intelligence or knowledge )
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Pit your wits against family or friends!
scared witless/out of your wits informal (= extremely scared )
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She admitted she was scared witless.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
caustic
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Sir Brian is loud-mouthing Sir Bernard, who is assaulting the other five with caustic wit .
dry
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He quickly built up a reputation for his dry wit .
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He was a dour Yankee, tall, confident, elegant, with a dry wit and aristocratic tastes.
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Mr Andreotti has been cleared in two trials, and is now a chat show regular with a dry wit .
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He was a brilliant improviser with a dry wit and a masterly sense of timing.
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He was 24, highly intelligent, could drink Malc under the table and had a dry , lightning wit .
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He reminded me of Benjamin with his dry wit , sardonic observations and palpable honesty.
quick
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Shabba's dominance of reggae is due to his unique voice, strong personal style and quick wit .
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Sylvie, tempered with Mathilde's quick wits and humour.
ready
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Shrewd in business, he had a ready wit and a distinctive appearance, with a full beard and piercing eyes.
sharp
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Our offer of riches beyond dreams still stands for those deft with pen and sharp of wit .
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Revealing his conclusion would spoil the fun because Hitt tells his story with a deft touch and a sharp wit .
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Her poor academic record was traded in for the sharpest of wits , her gaucherie for poise.
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Ice creams and lollies seem to benefit from the sharp wit of its frosting.
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The blood in my veins ran high and my usually sharp wits dulled.
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Lapworth was retiring, generous, especially to his students, and sincere, though he had a sharp wit .
■ VERB
collect
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I tried to collect my wits for the arrival.
frighten
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Knowing the cat as well as she did, Mildred could see that, despite its size, it was frightened out of its wits .
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Maura, tears running down her face, was frightened out of her wits .
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There is a beautiful little iron-grey mare here that Alejandro has frightened out of her wits and says is too wet for polo.
gather
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It is gone even before the predator can gather its wits and make chase.
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I felt helpless, but tried to gather my wits .
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He remained still and tried to gather his wits .
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She slowly gathered her wits , and looked round.
keep
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Individually or collectively, they must have made a decision to keep their wits about them for the committee meeting.
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His expression kept changing-irony, wit , envy.
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For Winnie herself, it required the tightest hold, the fumes of the stuff, to keep her wits about her.
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Anyway, she had to keep her wits about her.
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If I had kept my wits and remained coherent I would probably have realised the manager's job was third prize.
live
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Freddie lived by his wits and he was involved with many shady characters.
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Days when there were no news sensations the newsboys lived by their wits .
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At first, I lived on my wits .
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But in 1749 he committed a greater indiscretion when he left Cambridge for London, to live on his wits .
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Many 16 to 18-year olds are living off their wits and on the streets.
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I'd live off my wits even though I've geared myself to be a footballer.
need
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She would need all her wits about her.
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Whatever type of change you are dealing with, you need your wits about you.
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She needed all her wits and what was left of her strength in order to follow the grand plan.
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He knew their conversation had become interrogation and he would need all his wits about him.
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She would need all her wits if she were to stand any chance of getting away from him.
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When an emergency situation arises the pilot needs all his wits about him.
pit
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Jill and Oz will pit their wits against each other, as they try to identify mystery wines.
scare
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Suddenly, I heard a loud crash near me, scaring me out of my wits .
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People especially like to pat foals, and unfortunately usually on their face or head, which scares the wits out of them.
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It also came with a neighbor who scared the wits out of me, but about whom I was curious.
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They had seen the knuckles come out of the silken wrapping and the force of it scared their wits back into good manners.
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The film has gotten good reviews, but it has scared the wits out of some male film critics.
terrify
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I was terrified out of my wits at the very idea.
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Evidently terrified out of her wits , she had become delirious, mumbling incomprehensibly, her hands rubbing her stomach.
use
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He now used money where he had once used his wit .
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My passenger had had a lucky escape that night; he had used his wits well and survived another fight.
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The first of them is to use his wits .
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Basically, the expression means to use your wits to assess what you are being told.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a battle of wits
a nimble mind/brain/wit
live by your wits
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The city's homeless live completely by their wits.
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Days when there were no news sensations the newsboys lived by their wits.
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Freddie lived by his wits and he was involved with many shady characters.
mordant wit/satire/humour
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He showed his willingness to trade his mordant wit for the required political cliches.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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A dozen writers and wits used to gather at the Algonquin Hotel for lunch.
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He seemed to have everything you could want in a man -- intelligence, wit , good looks and charm.
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Oscar Wilde was a famous wit .
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People love him for his wit and charm.
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Rochester was well known as a wit in society circles.
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The wit and irony of the original novel has been lost in the film version.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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But then Farah did everything with style and wit courtesy.
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He did not hide his opinions in wit as Franklin or in fuzziness as Washington had.
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He remained still and tried to gather his wits.
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His limpid style and flashes of wit overcame Labour heckling, tickled the press and brought a smile to jaded Tory backbenchers.
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People especially like to pat foals, and unfortunately usually on their face or head, which scares the wits out of them.
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She was totally guileless, honest, with a mordant sense of humour and sardonic wit .