(08-21-2015, 03:37 PM)Verad Wrote:(08-21-2015, 03:33 PM)Oli! Wrote: I don't really see snobbyness anywhere in there, though.
Intelligence, yes, but intelligence belonging solely to the upper class is neither universal historically, nor implied in this thread, I don't think.
Another similarly murky, culturally-defined term, that. The fact that a distinction has been made in this thread between technical proficiency and intelligence is just one facet of how vague it can be.
But to get to the point: All you really need to do to be seen as a wit in RP is portray your wit with sufficient authority that when it's well-received, it's seen as intelligent, and when it isn't, it's seen as pretentious snobbery.
That leaves out the other bit that people were hoping to get at here, namely being funny. Wit includes humor, after all. Being the target of condescension is very rarely funny, and although it can be, it seems that that formula would be more miss than hit to many.