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Wortwitz

pun, play on words, verbal wit

noun VORT-vits Rare
Communication Speech

Usage Note

Wortwitz (m) describes humour based on a pun or wordplay — exploiting double meanings or phonetic similarity. It can also describe someone's general verbal wit. 'Einen Wortwitz machen' (to make a pun). German is particularly rich in compounds enabling Wortwitze.

Examples

"Er baute in seine Rede mehrere Wortwitze ein und lockerte damit die Stimmung auf."

Natural Translation

He wove several puns into his speech and lightened the mood with them.

Literal Translation

He built into his speech several word-jokes in and loosened therewith the mood up.

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