witwanton

plural witwantons · alternative wit-wanton

1. archaicOne who indulges in idle, foolish, and irreverent fancies or speculations; one who tries to be cleverly amusing but falls short.

   All epicures, witwantons, atheists.

   1613, Josuah Sylvester, Lachrymae Lachrymarum

   4 more examples

   And how dangerous it is for wit-wanton men to dance with their nice distinctions, on such mystical precipices, where slips in jest may cause deadly downfalls in earnest, …

   1655, Thomas Fuller, “4, A.D. 1611--1619”, in The Church History of Britain from the Birth of Jesus Christ until the Year MDCXLVIII, Book 10

   Word-warriors and wit-wantons would waste their breath upon one whose book-hunger has won him so rich a meed, ...

   1855, Thomas Carlyle, Fraser's magazine, Volume 52, Digitized edition, published 2005, page 345

   The witwanton is always a little off in trying to be always GETTING MENTAL.

   1986, David Grambs, Dimboxes, epopts, and other quidams

   WITWANTON: One who tries to be cleverly amusing, but misses the mark.

   2003, Robert M. Jarvis, Amicus Humoriae: An Anthology of Legal Humor, Carolina Academic Press, →ISBN, page 97

present singular third person witwantons · participle present witwantoning · participle past witwantoned · past witwantoned · alternative wit-wanton

1. archaicTo indulge in vain, sportive, or irreverent wit; speculate idly or irreverently.

   Wit-wanton it with lewd barbarity, …

   1839, Rober Southey, The poetical works of Robert Southey, Digitized edition, D. Appleton, published 2008, page 88

   3 more examples

   … a citizen in Cheapside was executed as a traitor for saying he would make his son heir to the crown, though he only meant his own house, having a crown for the sign, more dangerous it is to wit-wanton it with the Majesty of God.

   1834, William Chambers, Robert Chambers, Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, Digitized edition, W. Orr, published 2007, page 32

   And Master Lynch bade him have a care to flout and witwanton as the god self was angered for his hellprate and paganry.

   1922, James Joyce, Ulysses, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2008

   Nor I will not suffer mine indignation so to witwanton with fair justice as persuade me to put the wite on Witchland.

   1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, chapter 209, in The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC