wordplay

From word +‎ play.

wordplay (countable and uncountable, plural wordplays)

1. A humorous play on words; such plays on words collectively.
   • 2022 November 12, Matteo Wong, “How Did America End Up With the Z.O.M.B.I.E. Act?”, in The Atlantic‎^[1], archived from the original on 12 November 2022:

     Even this modest wordplay was an outlier: Sagers counted only three backronyms across the ’70s and ’80s.

2. A witty verbal exchange; such exchanges collectively.
4. (crosswording) The part of a cryptic clue that indicates but does not define the solution.

   Coordinate term: definition

   • 2012 June 13, Denise Sutherland, Solving Cryptic Crosswords For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 105:

     delete the T from another part in the wordplay

   • 2014, Henry Howarth, Learn How to Solve Cryptic Crosswords: A Course for Beginners, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 59:

     However, some clues include words that do not form part of the wordplay or the definition.

• See Thesaurus:joke

• wordplayer

• pun
• repartee

• word game