jeu d'esprit

English

Noun

jeu d'esprit (plural jeux d'esprit)

1. witticism; witty comment or composition
   • "There is a jeu d'esprit that Frenchmen tell -- though only to one another -- of how, when God created the earth, he wanted one perfect place, so he made France. Then, seeing what he had done, he decided he had gone too far, so he made Frenchmen." --William Manchester, The Last Lion Vol. 2, page 506