One of the glories of language is the witty rejoinder, riposte or retort. It is the answer in a quick, witty or caustic response (The Heritage Dictionary) to someone's comment or verbal assault; a severe, incisive or witty reply (The Random House Dictionary), especially one that counters a first speaker's statement, argument, etc. Probably the most famous retort in the English language is that of John Wilkes to the …
SOURCE: John Simon at 08:42PM on August 11, 2017