repartee

repartee
    n 1: adroitness and cleverness in reply
    

Repartee \Rep`ar*tee"\ (r?p`3r-t?"), n. [F. repartie, fr.
   repartir to reply, depart again; pref. re- re- partir to
   part, depart. See {Part}.]
   A smart, ready, and witty reply.
   [1913 Webster]

         Cupid was as bad as he;
         Hear but the youngster's repartee.       --Prior.
   [1913 Webster]

   Syn: Retort; reply. See {Retort}.
        [1913 Webster]
    

Repartee \Rep`ar*tee"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Reparteed} (-t?d");
   p. pr. & vb. n. {Reparteeing}.]
   To make smart and witty replies. [R.] --Prior.
   [1913 Webster]
    

REPARTEE, n.  Prudent insult in retort.  Practiced by gentlemen with a
constitutional aversion to violence, but a strong disposition to
offend.  In a war of words, the tactics of the North American Indian.
    

73 Moby Thesaurus words for "repartee":
      acknowledgment, answer, answering, antiphon, aphorism, apothegm,
      back answer, back talk, backchat, badinage, banter, bon mot,
      boutade, bright idea, bright thought, brilliant idea, comeback,
      conceit, crack, echo, epigram, evasive reply, facetiae,
      flash of wit, flight of wit, gibe, give and take, happy thought,
      humor, irony, mot, nasty crack, patter, persiflage, play of wit,
      pleasantry, quip, quips and cranks, raillery, reaction,
      ready reply, receipt, rejoinder, replication, reply, repost,
      rescript, rescription, respondence, response, responsion,
      responsory, retort, return, reverberation, riposte, sally, sarcasm,
      satire, scintillation, short answer, smart crack, smart saying,
      snappy comeback, stroke of wit, turn of thought, wisecrack, wit,
      witticism, witty reply, witty retort, wordplay,
      yes-and-no answer