Hypertext Webster Gateway: "pleasantry"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Pleasantry \Pleas"ant*ry\, n.; pl. {Pleasantries}. [F.
plaisanterie. See {Pleasant}.]
That which denotes or promotes pleasure or good humor;
cheerfulness; gayety; merriment; especially, an agreeable
playfulness in conversation; a jocose or humorous remark;
badinage.
The grave abound in pleasantries, the dull in repartees
and points of wit. --Addison.
The keen observation and ironical pleasantry of a
finished man of the world. --Macaulay.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
pleasantry
n : an agreeable or amusing remark; "they exchange pleasantries"
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